BioCentury
ARTICLE | Cover Story

Eritoran insight for influenza treatment

May 16, 2013 7:00 AM UTC

A University of Maryland School of Medicine team has used a toll-like receptor 4 antagonist to treat influenza in mice.1 The results provide a repurposing opportunity for Eisai Co. Ltd.'s toll-like receptor 4 blocker Eritoran, originally developed for sepsis, and could extend to treating respiratory infections beyond the flu.

Vaccines and antivirals-namely neuraminidase inhibitors-provide the standard of care for influenza. But the limited efficacy of vaccines together with the increasing resistance to antivirals and their short therapeutic window has spurred a need for alternative strategies...