Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of respiratory infection, hospitalization and death in infants worldwide. No fully effective RSV therapy using direct antivirals is marketed. Since clinical efficacy data from naturally infected patients for such antivirals are not available yet, animal studies are indispensable to predict therapeutic intervention. Here, we report the impact of an RSV fusion inhibitor, JNJ-49214698, on severe RSV-associated acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in neonatal lambs. Randomized animals were treated once daily with 25 mg/kg JNJ-49214698, starting either before RSV infection, 1 day post-infection or as late as peak lung viral load on Day 3 post-infection. Treatment efficacy was assessed by scoring clinical signs of illness, development of RSV-induced gross and microscopic lung lesions and measuring virus titres in the lungs. Treatment with JNJ-49214698 was very effective in all treatment groups. Even in animals for which treatment was delayed until peak viral load was reached, a reduced amount and severity of gross and microscopic lesions, as well as RSV titres and RNA levels, were found. These results strongly suggest that treatment with small-molecule fusion inhibitors is an effective strategy to treat patients who are diagnosed with an RSV-induced ALRTI.
Keywords: RSV; acute lower respiratory tract infection; antiviral; fusion inhibitor; neonatal lamb model; respiratory syncytial virus; small-molecule fusion inhibitor.