New peptide destroys Zika virus in brain for first time

An engineered peptide has emerged as a viable drug candidate to treat Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses as it’s the first therapy of its kind that is able to enter the brain to fight infection.

Disrupting the lipid envelope of Zika virus particles has previously been shown to halt infection by reducing viral load and spread – but only in in vitro experiments. The breakthrough in vivo has come about thanks to a novel antiviral engineering strategy that uses D-amino acids.