2. Academic Validation
  3. Effectiveness of favipiravir (T-705) against wild-type and oseltamivir-resistant influenza B virus in mice

Effectiveness of favipiravir (T-705) against wild-type and oseltamivir-resistant influenza B virus in mice

  • Virology. 2020 Jun;545:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2020.02.005.
Qiong-Qiong Fang 1,  Wei-Juan Huang 2,  Xi-Yan Li 2,  Yan-Hui Cheng 2,  Min-Ju Tan 2,  Jia Liu 2,  He-Jiang Wei 2,  Yao Meng 3,  Da-Yan Wang 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Chinese National Influenza Center, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Influenza, Beijing, 102206, China. Electronic address: fangqiongqiong@cnic.org.cn.
  • 2 Chinese National Influenza Center, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Influenza, Beijing, 102206, China.
  • 3 Shaanxi Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Xi'an, 710054, China.
  • 4 Chinese National Influenza Center, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Influenza, Beijing, 102206, China. Electronic address: dayanwang@cnic.org.cn.
PMID: 32174453 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2020.02.005
Abstract

The emergence of resistant mutants to the wildly used neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) makes the development of novel drugs necessary. Favipiravir (T-705) is one of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) inhibitors developed in recent years. To examine the efficacy of T-705 against influenza B virus infections in vivo, C57BL/6 mice infected with wild-type or oseltamivir-resistant influenza B/Memphis/20/96 viruses were treated with T-705. Starting 2 h post inoculation (hpi), T-705 was orally administered to mice BID at dosages of 50, 150, or 300 mg/kg/day for 5 days. Oseltamivir was used as control. Here, we showed that T-705 protected mice from lethal Infection in a dose-dependent manner. T-705 administration also significantly reduced viral loads and suppressed pulmonary pathology. In addition, phenotypic assays demonstrated that no T-705-resistant viruses emerged after T-705 treatment. In conclusion, T-705 can be effective to protect mice from lethal Infection with both wild-type and oseltamivir-resistant influenza B viruses.

Keywords

Favipiravir; Influenza B virus; Oseltamivir; Oseltamivir-resistant virus.

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