Repositioning and investigational drugs for Zika virus infection treatment: a patent review

Introduction: Zika virus (ZIKV) is transmitted to humans throughout bites of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) mosquitoes. ZIKV infection may be asymptomatic in most cases, but it may cause fever, headache, muscle pain, and rash. Guillain-Barré syndrome also may be associated with the infection. Furthermore, the PanAmerican Health Organization informed a total of 3,715 cases confirmed of the congenital Zika virus syndrome (CZS) in the Americas from 2015 - 2017, which may include microcephaly, eye abnormalities, craniofacial disproportion, or articular deformities.

Areas covered: This review identifies patent documents on repositioning for ZIKV infection treatment of already approved drugs or phases II/III investigated drugs for other diseases. A total of 36 documents were found reporting compounds with anti-ZIKV activity within ranging from 2015 to 2019.

Expert opinion: The main drugs claimed were ribavirin, sofosbuvir, and alpha-interferons. Likewise, the lopinavir-ritonavir combination, montelukast, and niclosamide were described as ZIKV inhibitors in some documents. Some investigational drugs such as emricasam, castanospermine, and flavonoids were also disclosed. Preventing the risk of CSZ is one of the most significant challenges in ZIKV infection. Therefore, repositioning sofosbuvir and niclosamide, drugs studied at least in two patents from different groups, for example, that pose no danger for pregnant women is a particular issue to be considered for clinical tests involving ZIKV disease. Given the substantial costs and developing time of new a drug, repositioning of old drugs is progressively becoming an attractive alternative, especially for diseases with neglected treatments.

Keywords: Zika virus; drug repositioning; interferons; lopinavir-ritonavir; niclosamide; patent; ribavirin; sofosbuvir.