• About
  • Masthead
  • License Content
  • Advertise
  • Submit Press Release
  • RSS/Email List
  • 2MM Podcast
  • Write for us
  • Contact Us
2 Minute Medicine
No Result
View All Result

No products in the cart.

SUBSCRIBE
  • Specialties
    • All Specialties, All Recent Reports
    • Cardiology
    • Chronic Disease
    • Dermatology
    • Emergency
    • Endocrinology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Imaging and Intervention
    • Infectious Disease
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharma
    • Preclinical
    • Psychiatry
    • Public Health
    • Pulmonology
    • Rheumatology
    • Surgery
  • AI Roundup
  • Pharma
  • The Scan+
  • Classics™+
    • 2MM+ Online Access
    • Paperback and Ebook
  • Rewinds
  • Visual
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • License Content
    • Submit Press Release
    • Advertise with Us
  • Account
    • Subscribe
    • Sign-in
    • My account
2 Minute Medicine
  • Specialties
    • All Specialties, All Recent Reports
    • Cardiology
    • Chronic Disease
    • Dermatology
    • Emergency
    • Endocrinology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Imaging and Intervention
    • Infectious Disease
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharma
    • Preclinical
    • Psychiatry
    • Public Health
    • Pulmonology
    • Rheumatology
    • Surgery
  • AI Roundup
  • Pharma
  • The Scan+
  • Classics™+
    • 2MM+ Online Access
    • Paperback and Ebook
  • Rewinds
  • Visual
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • License Content
    • Submit Press Release
    • Advertise with Us
  • Account
    • Subscribe
    • Sign-in
    • My account
SUBSCRIBE
2 Minute Medicine
Subscribe
Home All Specialties Chronic Disease

New antiviral drug pritelivir may reduce symptoms of HSV-2

bys25qthea
January 21, 2014
in Chronic Disease, Infectious Disease
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Image: PD 

1. Patients with HSV-2 treated with the helicase-primase inhibitor, pritelivir, had reduced viral shedding over 28 days when compared to patients treated with placebo. 

2. Patients treated with pritelivir also experienced fewer days with symptomatic genital lesions than those treated with placebo. 

3. Both viral shedding and days with genital lesions correlated with pritelivir treatment in a dose-dependent manner. 

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) 

Study Rundown: The current mainstays of treatment of genital HSV infections are the DNA polymerase inhibitors valacyclovir and acyclovir – both of which require activation by viral thymidine kinase. These compounds only partially reduce transmission risk of HSV and are waning in effectiveness due to increased rates of viral resistance, particularly in immune-compromised patients. In this study, Wald et. al. tested the safety and efficacy of pritelivir, a new antiviral drug that targets the helicase-primase complex of HSV and does not require viral phosphorylation. Though the study was quite small (approx 30 participants per intervention group) it impressively demonstrated suppression of viral load in a dose dependent manner over a period of 28 days of treatment. The results also showed a dose dependent reduction in viral lesions. The study excluded immune-compromised patients, the group most likely to benefit from a novel form of treatment. Their findings, however, provide the groundwork for future studies examining the effectiveness and safety of this new class of antiviral drugs. Of note, while there were very few serious adverse effects noted in this study, the FDA has temporarily halted the clinical development of pritelivir due to unexplained dermal and hematologic findings in a toxicology study of monkeys.

RELATED REPORTS

Second-line TAF-based ART improves viral suppression in pediatric HIV

Alcohol use disorder may be associated with human immunodeficiency virus

#VisualAbstract: Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir is Effective for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention in Men and Gender-Diverse Persons

Click to read the study in NEJM

Click to read an accompanying editorial in NEJM

Relevant Reading: Antiviral drug resistance and helicase-primase inhibitors of herpes simplex virus

Study Author, Dr. Anna Wald, MD MPH, talks to 2 Minute Medicine: Professor, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington 

“Our industry-sponsored clinical trial shows the potential of an antiviral for hsv with an novel mechanism of action. The study design, which focused on evaluation of viral shedding, clearly demonstrated a dose-response and allows for selection of optimal dose for further studies with larger number of patients.”

In-Depth [randomized controlled trial]: This study examined the safety and efficacy of the helicase-primase inhibitor pritelivir in adults with HSV-2 infection. The authors enrolled a total of 156 otherwise healthy adults who were seropositive for HSV-2 and had a clinical history of genital herpes. The authors assigned patients into 5 study groups and randomized them to receive one of 5 interventions over a period of 28 days: placebo, or pritelivir at a daily dose of 5mg, 25mg, 75mg, or 400mg. Patients then self-obtained daily swabs of genital skin and mucosa and provided them to the researchers for quantitative PCR detection of HSV. Patients also kept daily logs of signs and symptoms of their HSV infections. 147 of the 156 patients completed the study.  The authors found viral shedding to be present on 16.6%, 18.2%, 9.3%, 2.1% and 5.3% of days in the placebo, pritelivir 5mg, 25mg, 75mg and 400mg groups respectively. The relative risk of viral shedding with pritelivir at the 75mg dose when compared to placebo was 0.13 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.38). The relative risk of days with genital lesions in patients receiving 75mg of pritelivir versus placebo was 0.13 (95% CI, 0.02 to 0.70). The most common adverse events were headache and nausea – both of which were highest among the group receiving pritelivir at 400mg.

By Akira Shishido, MD and Xu Gao

© 2012-2014 2minutemedicine.com. All rights reserved. No works may be reproduced without expressed written consent from 2minutemedicine.com. Disclaimer: We present factual information directly from peer reviewed medical journals. No post should be construed as medical advice and is not intended as such by the authors, editors, staff or by 2minutemedicine.com. PLEASE SEE A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IN YOUR AREA IF YOU SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE OF ANY SORT.  

Tags: AIDSHIVpritelivir
Previous Post

2 Minute Medicine Rewind January 13-19, 2014

Next Post

Household firearm accessibility increases risk of suicide and homicide

RelatedReports

Government-funded initiatives provide important supports to low-income HIV patients
Infectious Disease

Second-line TAF-based ART improves viral suppression in pediatric HIV

June 4, 2025
Few high school students, young adults get HIV testing
Chronic Disease

Alcohol use disorder may be associated with human immunodeficiency virus

May 3, 2025
#VisualAbstract: Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir is Effective for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention in Men and Gender-Diverse Persons
StudyGraphics

#VisualAbstract: Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir is Effective for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention in Men and Gender-Diverse Persons

December 11, 2024
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) effective in preventing HIV infection in high-risk gay men
Infectious Disease

Kidneys from donors with HIV have good safety outcomes in persons with HIV

November 22, 2024
Next Post
A quarter of youths with assault injury own a gun

Household firearm accessibility increases risk of suicide and homicide

Pediatric chronic pain patients typically Caucasian, female adolescents.

Admitted uninsured patients less likely to undergo interhospital transfer

New genetic link in pulmonary arterial hypertension holds therapeutic promise

Warfarin, antibiotic interactions may not be clinically significant in ambulatory setting

2 Minute Medicine® is an award winning, physician-run, expert medical media company. Our content is curated, written and edited by practicing health professionals who have clinical and scientific expertise in their field of reporting. Our editorial management team is comprised of highly-trained MD physicians. Join numerous brands, companies, and hospitals who trust our licensed content.

Recent Reports

  • Weighted vests and resistance training confer similar outcomes for bone density in the elderly
  • Breast cancer survivors may have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s dementia
  • Evaluating scar outcomes in pediatric burn patients following skin grafting 
License Content
Terms of Use | Disclaimer
Cookie Policy
Privacy Statement (EU)
Disclaimer

© 2021 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. - Physician-written medical news.

  • Specialties
    • All Specialties, All Recent Reports
    • Cardiology
    • Chronic Disease
    • Dermatology
    • Emergency
    • Endocrinology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Imaging and Intervention
    • Infectious Disease
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharma
    • Preclinical
    • Psychiatry
    • Public Health
    • Pulmonology
    • Rheumatology
    • Surgery
  • AI Roundup
  • Pharma
  • The Scan
  • Classics™
    • 2MM+ Online Access
    • Paperback and Ebook
  • Rewinds
  • Visual
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • License Content
    • Submit Press Release
    • Advertise with Us
  • Account
    • Subscribe
    • Sign-in
    • My account
No Result
View All Result

© 2021 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. - Physician-written medical news.