R&D news to beat the blues of influenza and the common cold

Abstract

Several presentations at the 37th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) [ Toronto, Canada; September 1997 ] focused on possible new ways to deal with respiratory viruses. These included promising first clinical experiences with a novel oral neuraminidase inhibitor, GS-4104, which reduced the severity and duration of influenza infection. And a new approach, which uses an intranasally administered soluble intracellular adhesion molecule as a ‘lure’ for rhinovirus, reduced the symptoms of an experimental common cold infection.