Recent demographic and climatic changes have led to a greater spread of arboviruses such as Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, West Nile and new influenza virus subtypes, as well as to an increased risk of new infections or reactivation of persistent ones, including herpes infections from cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr, herpes simplex type -1 and -2 and varicella-zoster.
Broad-spectrum antiviral drugs targeting components shared by multiple viruses are an innovative strategy to fight viral infections for which there are no specific drugs and to limit the selection of drug-resistant viral variants. The goal of the PANVIR.NET (Preclinical development of novel panviral agents within a specialized regional network) project is to develop new therapies based on broad-spectrum antiviral agents against those viruses that cause outbreaks with potential epidemic or pandemic evolution, within a public and private network located in Tuscany and able to support and guide the development pathway of antiviral drugs.
