Antiviral Drug Resistance

Book excerpt: The study of antiviral drug resistance has provided important insights into the structure of virus enzymes, the functions of certain genes, mechanisms of action of antiviral drugs, the design of new antiviral compounds and the pathogenesis of viral diseases. The emergence of resistant strains must be explored at all stages of drug development: during the preclinical evaluation of candidate compounds; during the early clinical evaluation of new drugs; and as part of epidemiological surveillance for the prevalence of resistance during use of approved treatments. Accumulating understanding of antiviral drug resistance thus reflects progress in the chemotherapy of viral infection. Antiviral Drug Resistance provides state-of-the-art coverage of the basic and clinical aspects of this subject. It deals with the basic science, including the mechanisms of drug resistance and drug action, genetics of drug resistance, cross resistance, and X-ray crystallographic structural aspects of resistance, as well as the clinical aspects, including issues of assay of susceptibility of clinical isolates, descriptive aspects of emergence of reduced susceptibility, and clinical significance and impact of resistance. As such this unique volume will be essential to basic researchers in drug discovery and viral pathogenesis, as well as clinicians involved in antiviral chemotherapy.