Human Rhinovirus

The Disease

Human rhinovirus (HRV) is a small RNA virus that is the leading cause of the common cold in normal hosts, but this disease is typically brief and self-limited. Our therapy is focused on HRV infections in hosts with asthma and COPD.
HRV infection in asthmatics is the leading cause of asthma exacerbations; overall, about 30% of all exacerbations are triggered by HRV infection. In young asthmatic children, this figure can exceed 60%.
HRV infection in adults with COPD can also trigger COPD exacerbations, either alone or in conjunction with bacterial infection.
It is thought that infection in the asthmatic (or COPD) airway triggers inflammatory cascades that can precipitate bronchospasm.

HRV exhibits an enormous amount of genetic diversity – there are 3 major clades of HRV, each one of which contains many strains. This diversity has impeded efforts to identify drugs that can broadly inhibit these strains.
Our inhibitor targets the conserved viral RNA polymerase and covers all three clades of HRV.

HRV infection is highly prevalent, and 8% of the world’s population is asthmatic
No approved antiviral therapy exists for HRV