Application of an Immune-Modulating, Anti-Inflammatory Synthetic Peptide as a Novel Therapy for Influenza
Abstract
Topic Area: Influenza Area of Emphasis: Development and evaluation of novel, innovative, and/or combination influenza therapies. Influenza outbreaks, whether pandemic or seasonal, are a significant global concern. One of the most infamous pandemics, the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918, is estimated to have resulted in 20–50 million deaths worldwide. In 2009, the H1N1 swine flu pandemic is estimated to have caused almost 200,000 deaths worldwide. Seasonally in the US alone, there are anywhere between 9.2 million and 35 million cases of influenza, which puts a substantial burden on the healthcare system and patients. While influenza impacts both military personnel and civilians, active military personnel, especially those who are deployed, are at significantly higher risk of developing and transmitting respiratory viral infections, especially influenza. This can negatively affect military preparedness. There is additional concern that modification of highly virulent strains (such as H7N9 and H5N1) can result in new biological weapons. The current methods to combat influenza are vaccinations (preventative) and antivirals (symptom treatment). Vaccines are administered before a person becomes infected and primes the immune system to fight off the disease. Antivirals are administered within 48 hours of a person showing symptoms (e.g., fever, coughing) and lessen the severity of symptoms and the duration of the disease. There are limitations with both vaccines and antivirals. In the case of vaccines, the Department of Defense has adopted an aggressive vaccination strategy, and, in 2015 and 2016, over 95% of active military personnel received flu vaccines. Despite this impressive number, seasonal influenza still affected more than 10,000 people per week. This is because seasonal strains can be modular; experts make informed decisions on strains to incorporate into vaccines for the year. In emerging pandemics, vaccines take ~6 months to create and longer to deploy. For these reasons, antivirals are the first line of influenza defense. However, there are only three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recommended antivirals on the market. Older therapies are often ineffective since influenza can frequently evolve drug resistance. There is a significant need for new influenza therapies that can be used seasonally or, more importantly, in the case of emerging pandemics. This proposal will explore a new potential drug for influenza treatment. The compound SMSP is predicted to lessen duration and severity of influenza infections by activating the immune system and lessening tissue-damaging inflammation. In this proposal, SMSP will be evaluated alone and in combination with the common antiviral Tamiflu® (oseltamivir) to demonstrate proof-of-concept treatment of the highly virulent and potentially pandemic influenza strain, H7N9. There is significant potential of SMSP as it can be given immediately to patients who display symptoms and is not specific to influenza strains. This research will evaluate a pandemic strain (e.g., H7N9); however, the compound will likely be effective against both seasonal and pandemic influenza. If successful, SMSP can be further advanced as a novel influenza therapeutic that can be administered to active military personnel yearly, to lessen the impact of seasonal influenza on military preparedness, or, in the case of emerging pandemics, to decrease worldwide mortality.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 29, 2018
- Source ID
- W81XWH1810261
Entities
People
- Hal Siegel
Organizations
- New Amsterdam Sciences (United States)
- United States Army