Influenza is a significant global health threat, with one billion cases annually, including 3 to 5 million severe cases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it causes approximately 500,000 deaths worldwide each year. In Spain, influenza-related economic costs exceed €1,000 million annually, and the number of deaths reached 1,535 in 2023—a notable increase compared to the previous year.
Due to the burden of disease associated with influenza viruses, several strategies have been developed to combat this infectious agent such as annual vaccination campaigns for those most at risk. But a vaccine developed one year may not be effective the next due to the frequent and rapid mutations of the virus, and the varying dominance of different strains. On the other hand, treatment is primarily symptomatic, with antiviral drugs generally reserved for severe and hospitalized cases, where their efficacy is limited and further compromised by the rapid emergence of resistance and associated toxicity.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for new preventive and therapeutic strategies to address these infections, which are responsible for annual epidemics and even pandemics. In response, researchers at the FISABIO Foundation have identified a naturally occurring peptide with promising antiviral activity, which could be used for the prevention and treatment of respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza.
The development team has identified a peptide of human origin for the prevention and treatment of influenza virus, with potential scalability and applicability to other respiratory viruses.
The research has identified a peptide, produced by the innate immune system, that blocks the binding between the haemagglutinin of the influenza virus (HA) and the receptor of the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract (sialic acid), inhibiting the adhesion stage of the virus and therefore the first stage of infection. The peptide has been found to occur naturally in all routes of entry of respiratory viruses into the human body, and its levels increase during respiratory viral infections of various types.
Furthermore, this breakthrough has led to the development of a test capable of identifying the risk of developing severe influenza symptoms, regardless of whether the patient belongs to a high-risk group or not.
The main milestones achieved so far are:
- Technical feasibility of the invention demonstrated through infection inhibition assays in cell lines against H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A subtypes.
- Absence of cytotoxicity in cell cultures. Tolerability and safety tests in vivo after intranasal administration for 4 consecutive days.
- Characterization of the antiviral mechanism of action by affinity and molecular docking assays between the anti-influenza peptide and the influenza virus.
- Antiviral activity tested in vitro against other respiratory viruses such as measles and the coronavirus OC43 (the main causative agent of the common cold).
- In vivo efficacy: protects against influenza virus infection by blocking viral replication in the lungs similar to the commercial antiviral zanamivir.
The identified peptide presents the following advantages:
- It is a human peptide with all the advantages that this entails, such as low incidence or risk of allergies and absence of toxicity.
- It is an antimicrobial peptide characterized by a low tendency to develop resistance, to act as an immunomodulator, and with minimal side effects.
- At the treatment level, it inhibits the initial stage of viral infection by binding to the highly conserved HA stem domain of the influenza virus, unlike most commercial antivirals. This unique mechanism of action explains its broad-spectrum antiviral activity, blocking the infection of all strains of the virus that have been tested. Currently, its in vitro activity has been demonstrated in cell cultures against different strains of the H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes, as well as its in vivo efficacy against the H1N1 subtype.
- On a preventive level, it would help protect the mucous membranes against infection.
It is a peptide that is highly stable to variations in pH, temperature, and salinity, and resistant to protease action, which gives it a significant advantage for its production, storage, distribution, and administration.
The represented institution is looking for a collaboration that leads to commercial exploitation of the presented invention.
Institution: FISABIO
TRL: 5
Protection status: A national patent application was filed in 2020 and subsequently extended internationally through the PCT.
Contact: Elisa / tech@viromii.com
