Bemnifosbuvir (AT-527, RO7496998) is an

antiviral drug Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials ...

invented by

Atea Pharmaceuticals Atea is a deity in several Polynesian cultures, including the Marquesas and Tuamotu Islands, and New Zealand. Marquesas Islands In the mythology of the Marquesas Islands, Atea is the giver of light. In one legend Atea and Tāne are brothers, th ...

and licensed to

Roche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche (), is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational corporation, multinational holding healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, ...

for clinical development, a novel nucleotide analog

prodrug A prodrug is a pharmacologically inactive medication or compound that, after intake, is metabolized (i.e., converted within the body) into a pharmacologically active drug. Instead of administering a drug directly, a corresponding prodrug can be ...

originally developed for the treatment of

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...

. Bemnifosbuvir is the orally bioavailable hemisulfate salt of AT-511, which is metabolized in several steps to the active nucleotide triphosphate AT-9010, acting as an

RNA polymerase In molecular biology, RNA polymerase (abbreviated RNAP or RNApol), or more specifically DNA-directed/dependent RNA polymerase (DdRP), is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reactions that synthesize RNA from a DNA template. Using the e ...

inhibitor and thereby interfering with viral replication. Bemnifosbuvir has been researched for the treatment of

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

diseases such as that produced by

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had the Novel coronavirus, provisional nam ...

. It showed good results in early

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

s but had inconsistent results at later stages. Bemnifosbuvir's Phase III study ended early as it failed to meet its primary endpoint of symptom alleviation and did not decrease viral load. However, the drug was well-tolerated and reduced relative hospitalization risk by 71%.

References

Anti–RNA virus drugs Nucleotides Experimental antiviral drugs Nitrogen heterocycles {{antiinfective-drug-stub

See also

References