Hepatitis C drug lead designed to target virus RNA
Gene-to-RNA-to-medicine pipeline possible thanks to technique that reveals interactions between RNA and small molecules
The longstanding goal of designing RNA-targeting drugs has been given a boost thanks to a technique that identifies drug-like small molecules which selectively bind to disease-causing RNA. The US team demonstrated the approach by designing an antiviral drug lead for hepatitis C based on its RNA sequence and suggest the technique could help combat new viral strains that emerge seasonally such as flu.