Antipicornavirus drugs: current status

Considerable efforts have been made over the past several years to discover a broad-spectrum antipicornavirus agent. The X-ray crystal structure of several rhinovirus serotypes, as well as a coxasckievirus, has provided valuable information with respect to the virus structure as well as the location of the binding site of several capsid-binding compounds. This has aided in the design of broad-spectrum compounds. Several potential drug candidates have reached clinical status and some progress has been made in achieving efficacy. However, none of these compounds has as yet become a marketable drug. This review summarizes the current status of efforts in this area.