Therapeutic efficacy of the small molecule GS-5734 against Ebola virus in rhesus monkeys.

The most recent Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, which was unprecedented in the number of cases and fatalities, geographic distribution, and number of nations affected, highlights the need for safe, effective, and readily available antiviral agents for treatment and prevention of acute Ebola virus (EBOV) disease (EVD) or sequelae. No antiviral therapeutics have yet received regulatory approval or demonstrated clinical efficacy. Here we report the discovery of a novel small molecule GS-5734, a monophosphoramidate prodrug of an adenosine analogue, with antiviral activity against EBOV. GS-5734 exhibits antiviral activity against multiple variants of EBOV and other filoviruses in cell-based assays. The pharmacologically active nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) is efficiently formed in multiple human cell types incubated with GS-5734 in vitro, and the NTP acts as an alternative substrate and RNA-chain terminator in primer-extension assays using a surrogate respiratory syncytial virus RNA polymerase. Intravenous administration of GS-5734 to nonhuman primates resulted in persistent NTP levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (half-life, 14 h) and distribution to sanctuary sites for viral replication including testes, eyes, and brain. In a rhesus monkey model of EVD, once-daily intravenous administration of 10 mg kg(-1) GS-5734 for 12 days resulted in profound suppression of EBOV replication and protected 100% of EBOV-infected animals against lethal disease, ameliorating clinical disease signs and pathophysiological markers, even when treatments were initiated three days after virus exposure when systemic viral RNA was detected in two out of six treated animals. These results show the first substantive post-exposure protection by a small-molecule antiviral compound against EBOV in nonhuman primates. The broad-spectrum antiviral activity of GS-5734 in vitro against other pathogenic RNA viruses, including filoviruses, arenaviruses, and coronaviruses, suggests the potential for wider medical use. GS-5734 is amenable to large-scale manufacturing, and clinical studies investigating the drug safety and pharmacokinetics are ongoing.

The Nucleoside/Nucleotide Analogs Tenofovir and Emtricitabine Are Inactive against SARS-CoV-2.

The urgent response to the COVID-19 pandemic required accelerated evaluation of many approved drugs as potential antiviral agents against the causative pathogen, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Using cell-based, biochemical, and modeling approaches, we studied the approved HIV-1 nucleoside/tide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) tenofovir (TFV) and emtricitabine (FTC), as well as prodrugs tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) and tenofovir disoproxilfumarate (TDF) for their antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2. A comprehensive set of in vitro data indicates that TFV, TAF, TDF, and FTC are inactive against SARS-CoV-2. None of the NRTIs showed antiviral activity in SARS-CoV-2 infected A549-hACE2 cells or in primary normal human lung bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells at concentrations up to 50 µM TAF, TDF, FTC, or 500 µM TFV. These results are corroborated by the low incorporation efficiency of respective NTP analogs by the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent-RNA polymerase (RdRp), and lack of the RdRp inhibition. Structural modeling further demonstrated poor fitting of these NRTI active metabolites at the SARS-CoV-2 RdRp active site. Our data indicate that the HIV-1 NRTIs are unlikely direct-antivirals against SARS-CoV-2, and clinicians and researchers should exercise caution when exploring ideas of using these and other NRTIs to treat or prevent COVID-19.

Off-Target In Vitro Profiling Demonstrates that Remdesivir Is a Highly Selective Antiviral Agent.

Remdesivir (RDV, GS-5734), the first FDA-approved antiviral for the treatment of COVID-19, is a single diastereomer monophosphoramidate prodrug of an adenosine analogue. It is intracellularly metabolized into the active triphosphate form, which in turn acts as a potent and selective inhibitor of multiple viral RNA polymerases. RDV has broad-spectrum activity against members of the coronavirus family, such as SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV, as well as filoviruses and paramyxoviruses. To assess the potential for off-target toxicity, RDV was evaluated in a set of cellular and biochemical assays. Cytotoxicity was evaluated in a set of relevant human cell lines and primary cells. In addition, RDV was evaluated for mitochondrial toxicity under aerobic and anaerobic metabolic conditions, and for the effects on mitochondrial DNA content, mitochondrial protein synthesis, cellular respiration, and induction of reactive oxygen species. Last, the active 5'-triphosphate metabolite of RDV, GS-443902, was evaluated for potential interaction with human DNA and RNA polymerases. Among all of the human cells tested under 5 to 14 days of continuous exposure, the 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) values of RDV ranged from 1.7 to >20 µM, resulting in selectivity indices (SI, CC50/EC50) from >170 to 20,000, with respect to RDV anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity (50% effective concentration [EC50] of 9.9 nM in human airway epithelial cells). Overall, the cellular and biochemical assays demonstrated a low potential for RDV to elicit off-target toxicity, including mitochondria-specific toxicity, consistent with the reported clinical safety profile.

Key Metabolic Enzymes Involved in Remdesivir Activation in Human Lung Cells.

Remdesivir (RDV; GS-5734, Veklury), the first FDA-approved antiviral to treat COVID-19, is a single-diastereomer monophosphoramidate prodrug of an adenosine analogue. RDV is taken up in the target cells and metabolized in multiple steps to form the active nucleoside triphosphate (TP) (GS-443902), which, in turn, acts as a potent and selective inhibitor of multiple viral RNA polymerases. In this report, we profiled the key enzymes involved in the RDV metabolic pathway with multiple parallel approaches: (i) bioinformatic analysis of nucleoside/nucleotide metabolic enzyme mRNA expression using public human tissue and lung single-cell bulk mRNA sequence (RNA-seq) data sets, (ii) protein and mRNA quantification of enzymes in human lung tissue and primary lung cells, (iii) biochemical studies on the catalytic rate of key enzymes, (iv) effects of specific enzyme inhibitors on the GS-443902 formation, and (v) the effects of these inhibitors on RDV antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture. Our data collectively demonstrated that carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) and cathepsin A (CatA) are enzymes involved in hydrolyzing RDV to its alanine intermediate MetX, which is further hydrolyzed to the monophosphate form by histidine triad nucleotide-binding protein 1 (HINT1). The monophosphate is then consecutively phosphorylated to diphosphate and triphosphate by cellular phosphotransferases. Our data support the hypothesis that the unique properties of RDV prodrug not only allow lung-specific accumulation critical for the treatment of respiratory viral infection such as COVID-19 but also enable efficient intracellular metabolism of RDV and its MetX to monophosphate and successive phosphorylation to form the active TP in disease-relevant cells.

Two-dose emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide plus bictegravir prophylaxis protects macaques against SHIV infection.

OBJECTIVES: Current prophylaxis options for people at risk for HIV infection include two US FDA-approved daily pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) regimens and guidelines for a 2-1-1 event-driven course specifically for men who have sex with men. Despite this, PrEP use rates remain suboptimal, and additional PrEP options may help to improve uptake among diverse populations. Here, we evaluated protective efficacy of two-dose PrEP and two-dose postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) schedules with emtricitabine (FTC)/tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) with or without bictegravir (BIC) in an SHIV macaque model. METHODS: Macaques received one oral dose of 200 mg emtricitabine, 25 mg tenofovir alafenamide and 25-100 mg of bictegravir to establish pharmacokinetic profiles of each drug either in the plasma or the peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Protective efficacy of multiple two-dose PrEP and PEP schedules with FTC/TAF with or without bictegravir was then assessed in two repeat low-dose rectal SHIV challenge studies. RESULTS: The data revealed over 95% per-exposure risk reduction with FTC/TAF PrEP initiated 2 h before the exposure, but a loss of significant protection with treatment initiation postexposure. In contrast, FTC/TAF plus BIC offered complete protection as PrEP and greater than 80% per-exposure risk reduction with treatment initiation up to 24 h postexposure. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these results demonstrate that two-dose schedules can protect macaques against SHIV acquisition and highlight the protective advantage of adding the integrase inhibitor bictegravir to the reverse transcriptase inhibitors emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide as part of event-driven prophylaxis.

Efficacy of Oral Tenofovir Alafenamide/Emtricitabine Combination or Single-Agent Tenofovir Alafenamide Against Vaginal Simian Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Macaques.

BACKGROUND: Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF)-based regimens are being evaluated for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We used a macaque model of repeated exposures to simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) to investigate whether TAF alone or the combination of TAF and emtricitabine (FTC) can prevent vaginal infection. METHODS: Pigtail macaques were exposed vaginally to SHIV162p3 once a week for up to 15 weeks. Animals received clinical doses of FTC/TAF (n = 6) or TAF (n = 9) orally 24 hours before and 2 hours after each weekly virus exposure. Infection was compared with 21 untreated controls. RESULTS: Five of the 6 animals in the FTC/TAF and 4 of the 9 animals in the TAF alone group were protected against infection (P = .001 and P = .049, respectively). The calculated efficacy of FTC/TAF and TAF was 91% (95% confidence interval [CI], 34.9%-98.8%) and 57.8% (95% CI, -8.7% to 83.6%), respectively. Infection in FTC/TAF but not TAF-treated macaques was delayed relative to controls (P = .005 and P = .114). Median tenofovir diphosphate (TFV-DP) levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were similar among infected and uninfected macaques receiving TAF PrEP (351 and 143 fmols/106 cells, respectively; P = .921). CONCLUSIONS: Emtricitabine/TAF provided a level of protection against vaginal challenge similar to FTC/TFV disoproxil fumarate combination in the macaque model. Our results support the clinical evaluation of FTC/TAF for PrEP in women.

Sofosbuvir and Ribavirin Liver Pharmacokinetics in Patients Infected with Hepatitis C Virus.

Sofosbuvir and ribavirin exert their anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) activity following metabolic activation in the liver. However, intrahepatic concentrations of the pharmacologically active nucleotide metabolites in humans are poorly characterized due to the inaccessibility of tissue and technical challenges with measuring nucleotide levels. A clinical study assessing the efficacy of sofosbuvir and ribavirin administered prior to liver transplantation to prevent HCV recurrence provided a unique opportunity to quantify nucleotide concentrations in human liver. We analyzed nucleotides using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry in liver tissue from 30 HCV-infected patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who were administered sofosbuvir (400 mg/day) and ribavirin (1,000 to 1,200 mg/day) for 3 to 52 weeks prior to liver transplantation. Median total hepatic metabolite concentrations (the sum of nucleoside and mono-, di-, and triphosphates) were 77.1 µM for sofosbuvir and 361 µM for ribavirin in patients on therapy at the time of transplantation. Ribavirin and sofosbuvir efficiently loaded the liver, with total hepatic metabolite concentrations exceeding maximal levels in plasma by approximately 30-fold. Ribavirin metabolite levels suggest that its monophosphate is in great excess of its inhibition constant for IMP dehydrogenase and that its triphosphate is approaching the binding constant for incorporation by the HCV NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. In accordance with the potent antiviral activity of sofosbuvir, these results demonstrate that the liver triphosphate levels achieved following sofosbuvir administration greatly exceed the inhibition constant for HCV NS5B. In conclusion, this study expands the quantitative understanding of the pharmacology of sofosbuvir and ribavirin by establishing efficient hepatic delivery in the clinic. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT01559844.).

Nucleotide Prodrug Containing a Nonproteinogenic Amino Acid To Improve Oral Delivery of a Hepatitis C Virus Treatment.

Delivery of pharmacologically active nucleoside triphosphate analogs to sites of viral infection is challenging. In prior work we identified a 2'-C-methyl-1'-cyano-7-deaza-adenosine C-nucleotide analog with desirable selectivity and potency for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, the prodrug selected for clinical development, GS-6620, required a high dose for meaningful efficacy and had unacceptable variability due to poor oral absorption as a result of suboptimal solubility, intestinal metabolism, and efflux transport. While obtaining clinical proof of concept for the nucleotide analog, a more effective prodrug strategy would be necessary for clinical utility. Here, we report an alternative prodrug of the same nucleoside analog identified to address liabilities of GS-6620. A phosphoramidate prodrug containing the nonproteinogenic amino acid methylalanine, an isopropyl ester and phenol in the (S) conformation at phosphorous, GS2, was found to have improved solubility, intestinal stability, and hepatic activation. GS2 is a more selective substrate for hepatically expressed carboxyl esterase 1 (CES1) and is resistant to hydrolysis by more widely expressed hydrolases, including cathepsin A (CatA) and CES2. Unlike GS-6620, GS2 was not cleaved by intestinally expressed CES2 and, as a result, was stable in intestinal extracts. Levels of liver triphosphate following oral administration of GS2 in animals were higher than those of GS-6620, even when administered under optimal conditions for GS-6620 absorption. Combined, these properties suggest that GS2 will have better oral absorption in the clinic when administered in a solid dosage form and the potential to extend the clinical proof of concept obtained with GS-6620.

Discovery of a 2'-fluoro-2'-C-methyl C-nucleotide HCV polymerase inhibitor and a phosphoramidate prodrug with favorable properties.

A series of 2'-fluorinated C-nucleosides were prepared and tested for anti-HCV activity. Among them, the triphosphate of 2'-fluoro-2'-C-methyl adenosine C-nucleoside (15) was a potent and selective inhibitor of the NS5B polymerase and maintained activity against the S282T resistance mutant. A number of phosphoramidate prodrugs were then prepared and evaluated leading to the identification of the 1-aminocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid isopropyl ester variant (53) with favorable pharmacokinetic properties including efficient liver delivery in animals.

Chemoprophylaxis With Oral Emtricitabine and Tenofovir Alafenamide Combination Protects Macaques From Rectal Simian/Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection.

Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is a novel prodrug of tenofovir that efficiently delivers tenofovir diphosphate to lymphoid cells following oral administration. We investigated whether the combination of TAF and emtricitabine (FTC) could prevent simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) infection in macaques to determine the potential use of TAF for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent human immunodeficiency virus infection. Macaques were exposed rectally to SHIV once per week for up to 19 weeks and received saline or FTC/TAF 24 hours before and 2 hours after each virus inoculation. All 6 controls were infected, while the 6 PrEP-treated animals were protected from infection. Our results support the clinical investigation of FTC/TAF for PrEP.

Role of Mitochondrial RNA Polymerase in the Toxicity of Nucleotide Inhibitors of Hepatitis C Virus.

Toxicity has emerged during the clinical development of many but not all nucleotide inhibitors (NI) of hepatitis C virus (HCV). To better understand the mechanism for adverse events, clinically relevant HCV NI were characterized in biochemical and cellular assays, including assays of decreased viability in multiple cell lines and primary cells, interaction with human DNA and RNA polymerases, and inhibition of mitochondrial protein synthesis and respiration. NI that were incorporated by the mitochondrial RNA polymerase (PolRMT) inhibited mitochondrial protein synthesis and showed a corresponding decrease in mitochondrial oxygen consumption in cells. The nucleoside released by the prodrug balapiravir (R1626), 4'-azido cytidine, was a highly selective inhibitor of mitochondrial RNA transcription. The nucleotide prodrug of 2'-C-methyl guanosine, BMS-986094, showed a primary effect on mitochondrial function at submicromolar concentrations, followed by general cytotoxicity. In contrast, NI containing multiple ribose modifications, including the active forms of mericitabine and sofosbuvir, were poor substrates for PolRMT and did not show mitochondrial toxicity in cells. In general, these studies identified the prostate cell line PC-3 as more than an order of magnitude more sensitive to mitochondrial toxicity than the commonly used HepG2 cells. In conclusion, analogous to the role of mitochondrial DNA polymerase gamma in toxicity caused by some 2'-deoxynucleotide analogs, there is an association between HCV NI that interact with PolRMT and the observation of adverse events. More broadly applied, the sensitive methods for detecting mitochondrial toxicity described here may help in the identification of mitochondrial toxicity prior to clinical testing.

Implications of efficient hepatic delivery by tenofovir alafenamide (GS-7340) for hepatitis B virus therapy.

Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is a prodrug of tenofovir (TFV) currently in clinical evaluation for treatment for HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections. Since the target tissue for HBV is the liver, the hepatic delivery and metabolism of TAF in primary human hepatocytes in vitro and in dogs in vivo were evaluated here. Incubation of primary human hepatocytes with TAF resulted in high levels of the pharmacologically active metabolite tenofovir diphosphate (TFV-DP), which persisted in the cell with a half-life of >24 h. In addition to passive permeability, studies of transfected cell lines suggest that the hepatic uptake of TAF is also facilitated by the organic anion-transporting polypeptides 1B1 and 1B3 (OATP1B1 and OATP1B3, respectively). In order to inhibit HBV reverse transcriptase, TAF must be converted to the pharmacologically active form, TFV-DP. While cathepsin A is known to be the major enzyme hydrolyzing TAF in cells targeted by HIV, including lymphocytes and macrophages, TAF was primarily hydrolyzed by carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) in primary human hepatocytes, with cathepsin A making a small contribution. Following oral administration of TAF to dogs for 7 days, TAF was rapidly absorbed. The appearance of the major metabolite TFV in plasma was accompanied by a rapid decline in circulating TAF. Consistent with the in vitro data, high and persistent levels of TFV-DP were observed in dog livers. Notably, higher liver TFV-DP levels were observed after administration of TAF than those given TDF. These results support the clinical testing of once-daily low-dose TAF for the treatment of HBV infection.

Synthesis and characterization of 1'-C-cyano-2'-fluoro-2'-C-methyl pyrimidine nucleosides as HCV polymerase inhibitors.

The first synthesis of 1'-C-CN, 2'-F, 2'-C-Me pyrimidines is described. Anti-HCV activity was assessed and compared to the 1'-C-CN, 2'-C-Me as well as the 2'-F, 2'-C-Me pyrimidines. A phosphoramidate prodrug of the cytidine derivative showed activity in the low micromolar range against HCV replicons.

Metabolism and pharmacokinetics of the anti-hepatitis C virus nucleotide prodrug GS-6620.

The anti-hepatitis C virus nucleotide prodrug GS-6620 employs a double-prodrug approach, with l-alanine-isopropyl ester and phenol moieties attached to the 5'-phosphate that release the nucleoside monophosphate in hepatocytes and a 3'-isobutyryl ester added to improve permeability and oral bioavailability. Consistent with the stability found in intestinal homogenates, following oral administration, intact prodrug levels in blood plasma were the highest in dogs, followed by monkeys, and then were the lowest in hamsters. In contrast, liver levels of the triphosphate metabolite at the equivalent surface area-adjusted doses were highest in hamsters, followed by in dogs and monkeys. Studies in isolated primary hepatocytes suggest that relatively poor oral absorption in hamsters and monkeys was compensated for by relatively efficient hepatocyte activation. As intestinal absorption was found to be critical to the effectiveness of GS-6620 in nonclinical species, stomach pH, formulation, and food effect studies were completed in dogs. Consistent with in vitro absorption studies in Caco-2 cells, the absorption of GS-6620 was found to be complex and highly dependent on concentration. Higher rates of metabolism were observed at lower concentrations that were unable to saturate intestinal efflux transporters. In first-in-human clinical trials, the oral administration of GS-6620 resulted in poor plasma exposure relative to that observed in dogs and in large pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variabilities. While a double-prodrug approach, including a 3'-isobutyryl ester, provided higher intrinsic intestinal permeability, this substitution appeared to be a metabolic liability, resulting in extensive intestinal metabolism and relatively poor oral absorption in humans.

Sensitivity of mitochondrial transcription and resistance of RNA polymerase II dependent nuclear transcription to antiviral ribonucleosides.

Ribonucleoside analogues have potential utility as anti-viral, -parasitic, -bacterial and -cancer agents. However, their clinical applications have been limited by off target effects. Development of antiviral ribonucleosides for treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been hampered by appearance of toxicity during clinical trials that evaded detection during preclinical studies. It is well established that the human mitochondrial DNA polymerase is an off target for deoxyribonucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Here we test the hypothesis that triphosphorylated metabolites of therapeutic ribonucleoside analogues are substrates for cellular RNA polymerases. We have used ribonucleoside analogues with activity against HCV as model compounds for therapeutic ribonucleosides. We have included ribonucleoside analogues containing 2'-C-methyl, 4'-methyl and 4'-azido substituents that are non-obligate chain terminators of the HCV RNA polymerase. We show that all of the anti-HCV ribonucleoside analogues are substrates for human mitochondrial RNA polymerase (POLRMT) and eukaryotic core RNA polymerase II (Pol II) in vitro. Unexpectedly, analogues containing 2'-C-methyl, 4'-methyl and 4'-azido substituents were inhibitors of POLRMT and Pol II. Importantly, the proofreading activity of TFIIS was capable of excising these analogues from Pol II transcripts. Evaluation of transcription in cells confirmed sensitivity of POLRMT to antiviral ribonucleosides, while Pol II remained predominantly refractory. We introduce a parameter termed the mitovir (mitochondrial dysfunction caused by antiviral ribonucleoside) score that can be readily obtained during preclinical studies that quantifies the mitochondrial toxicity potential of compounds. We suggest the possibility that patients exhibiting adverse effects during clinical trials may be more susceptible to damage by nucleoside analogs because of defects in mitochondrial or nuclear transcription. The paradigm reported here should facilitate development of ribonucleosides with a lower potential for toxicity.

Preparation and biological evaluation of 1'-cyano-2'-C-methyl pyrimidine nucleosides as HCV NS5B polymerase inhibitors.

The first synthesis of 1'-cyano-2'-C-methyl pyrimidine nucleosides is described. Anti-HCV activity of these nucleosides and their nucleotide phosphoramidate prodrugs was assessed and compared to the 1'-unsubstituted counterparts and to the related 1'-cyano-2'-C-methyl C-nucleoside parent of GS-6620.

GS-9219/VDC-1101--a prodrug of the acyclic nucleotide PMEG has antitumor activity in spontaneous canine multiple myeloma.

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) is an important human and canine cancer for which novel therapies remain necessary. VDC-1101 (formerly GS-9219), a novel double prodrug of the anti-proliferative nucleotide analog 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl) guanine (PMEG), possesses potent cytotoxic activity in vitro in human lymphoblasts and leukemia cell lines and in vivo in spontaneous canine lymphoma. Given the similarity in lineage between lymphoma and MM, we hypothesized that VDC-1101 would be active against MM. RESULTS: We evaluated the in vitro antiproliferative effects of VDC-1101 against 3 human MM cell lines, and we performed a phase-II clinical trial in 14 dogs with spontaneous MM. Each dog was treated with a maximum of 6 doses of VDC-1101 monotherapy over 10-15 weeks. Dose-dependent antiproliferative activity was observed in all evaluated cell lines. Major antitumor responses (reduction of serum paraprotein and resolution of hypercalcemia, peripheral cytopenias and bone marrow plasmacytosis) were observed in 9 of 11 evaluable dogs for a median of 172 days, including a durable stringent complete response (>1047 days) in a dog with melphalan-refractory disease. 2 dogs were euthanized due to presumed pulmonary fibrosis; there were no other dose-limiting toxicities encountered. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, VDC-1101 has significant anti-tumor activity at well-tolerated doses in spontaneous canine MM.

A robust mouse model of HPIV-3 infection and efficacy of GS-441524 against virus-induced lung pathology.

Human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV-3) can cause severe respiratory tract infections. There are no convenient small-animal infection models. Here, we show viral replication in the upper and lower airways of AG129 mice (double IFNα/ß and IFNγ receptor knockout mice) upon intranasal inoculation. By multiplex fluorescence RNAscope and immunohistochemistry followed by confocal microscopy, we demonstrate viral tropism to ciliated cells and club cells of the bronchiolar epithelium. HPIV-3 causes a marked lung pathology. No virus transmission of the virus was observed by cohousing HPIV-3-infected AG129 mice with other mice. Oral treatment with GS-441524, the parent nucleoside of remdesivir, reduced infectious virus titers in the lung, with a relatively normal histology. Intranasal treatment also affords an antiviral effect. Thus, AG129 mice serve as a robust preclinical model for developing therapeutic and prophylactic strategies against HPIV-3. We suggest further investigation of GS-441524 and its prodrug forms to treat HPIV-3 infection in humans.

Oral administration of obeldesivir protects nonhuman primates against Sudan ebolavirus.

Obeldesivir (ODV, GS-5245) is an orally administered prodrug of the parent nucleoside of remdesivir (RDV) and is presently in phase 3 trials for COVID-19 treatment. In this work, we show that ODV and its circulating parent nucleoside metabolite, GS-441524, have similar in vitro antiviral activity against filoviruses, including Marburg virus, Ebola virus, and Sudan virus (SUDV). We also report that once-daily oral ODV treatment of cynomolgus monkeys for 10 days beginning 24 hours after SUDV exposure confers 100% protection against lethal infection. Transcriptomics data show that ODV treatment delayed the onset of inflammation and correlated with antigen presentation and lymphocyte activation. Our results offer promise for the further development of ODV to control outbreaks of filovirus disease more rapidly.

The oral nucleoside prodrug GS-5245 is efficacious against SARS-CoV-2 and other endemic, epidemic, and enzootic coronaviruses.

Despite the wide availability of several safe and effective vaccines that prevent severe COVID-19, the persistent emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOCs) that can evade vaccine-elicited immunity remains a global health concern. In addition, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs that can evade therapeutic monoclonal antibodies underscores the need for additional, variant-resistant treatment strategies. Here, we characterize the antiviral activity of GS-5245, obeldesivir (ODV), an oral prodrug of the parent nucleoside GS-441524, which targets the highly conserved viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). We show that GS-5245 is broadly potent in vitro against alphacoronavirus HCoV-NL63, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-related bat-CoV RsSHC014, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), SARS-CoV-2 WA/1, and the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 Omicron variant. Moreover, in mouse models of SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 (WA/1 and Omicron B1.1.529), MERS-CoV, and bat-CoV RsSHC014 pathogenesis, we observed a dose-dependent reduction in viral replication, body weight loss, acute lung injury, and pulmonary function with GS-5245 therapy. Last, we demonstrate that a combination of GS-5245 and main protease (Mpro) inhibitor nirmatrelvir improved outcomes in vivo against SARS-CoV-2 compared with the single agents. Together, our data support the clinical evaluation of GS-5245 against coronaviruses that cause or have the potential to cause human disease.