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By Hannah Millington
Health Reporter
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We're close to the world's first-ever broad-spectrum antiviral, which could be deployed against future pandemic threats.
In a breakthrough, researchers at the City University of New York have identified a promising path to the development of an antiviral that could be used to fight a wide range of deadly viruses.
"Currently, if a new viral outbreak occurs from a new virus (or some old viruses like measles or influenza), we often don't have vaccines or antivirals that are effective against those diseases, so a deadly pandemic can occur," study author and nanoscience professor, Adam Braunschweig, told Newsweek.
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"Even if new vaccines and antibodies can be developed, this could take months-to-years and during that time the ill consequences of the disease spread."
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Unlike bacterial infections—which doctors can begin immediately treating with broad-spectrum antibiotics (if appropriate) while they work to determine the specific bacteria— viral infections are treated with antivirals. But these are narrowly targeted and effective against only a small set of related viruses.
"Serious bacterial infections can be contained because there are actions that can be taken early in the course of the disease and thereby prevent the infected from becoming patients," said Braunschweig.
"No such early intervention exists for the viruses that could cause the next pandemic, and in fact, for many very serious viruses that are endemic in areas of the world—dengue, measles, Zika, etc.—there are no effective antivirals and the only treatment is palliative care."
The scientific challenge in developing broad-spectrum antivirals lies in the fact "you would need to identify and exploit a molecular target that is involved in the life cycle of the virus and that is broadly shared amongst different viruses," Braunschweig explained.
"For bacteria, no problem. But for viruses, they mutate so fast that even within viral families, the proteins with similar function often vary significantly in their structure. So most antivirals only treat a single virus or a few viruses within the same family."
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In the study, the team targeted a shared feature found on the surface of many viruses—viral envelope glycans.
These are sugar molecules that are structurally conserved across unrelated viral families and have until now remained an untapped target for antiviral drug development.
"The hypothesis was that by binding N-glycans on the surfaces of viral envelopes, we could stop viruses from infecting cells, and in doing so, stop the progression of viral diseases. This is a groundbreaking hypothesis because of the implications regarding one of the biggest unsolved problems in public health—the desperate need for broad spectrum antivirals," Braunschweig explained.
The researchers screened 57 synthetic carbohydrate receptors (SCRs), which are small molecules designed to bind to viral glycans. They identified four lead compounds that successfully blocked infection from seven different viruses across five unrelated families, including some of the world's most dangerous pathogens: Ebola, Marburg, Nipah, Hendra, SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 (coronaviruses).
In a "critical test", one of the lead SCR compounds was used to treat mice infected with SARS-CoV-2. Some 90 percent of the mice receiving the SCR survived, compared to none in the control group.
"Only for SARS-CoV-2 did we test the effectiveness in vivo, in other words in mice. For the other viruses listed, we tested the activity against live virus (except SARS-CoV-1)," said Braunschweig.
Further analysis confirmed that the compounds work by binding to viral envelope glycans—a novel mechanism of action with potential applications not only for infectious diseases but also for cancer and immune disorders, according to the team.
"These broad-spectrum antivirals, if they make it through clinical trials, could be immediately deployed to mitigate the health consequences, thereby preventing the infected from becoming patients. This would alleviate significantly the burden on public health systems that come under strain when too many infected become patients," Braunschweig emphasized.
At the moment, the antiviral is delivered through the nose because the team focused on respiratory viruses, so delivering to the lungs was important.
The next phase of the research will focus on advancing the most promising compounds into clinical trials. The researchers anticipate Phase I trials beginning in 2028 after completing preclinical development.
Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about viral infections? Let us know via health@newsweek.com.
Reference
Ezzatpour, S., Thakur, K., Erzoah Ndede, K., Buchholz, D. W., Choi, A., Imbiakha, B., Carter, J., Onofrei, D., Eaton, B., Postnikova, E., Murphy, M., Tapia, B. C., Bello, D., Pasari, S., Russo, A., Babayev, M., Holland, G. P., Holbrook, M. R., Caddy, S. L., ... Aguilar, H. C. (2025). Broad-spectrum synthetic carbohydrate receptors (SCRs) inhibit viral entry across multiple virus families. Science Advances, 11(35). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ady3554
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