Development of potent antivirals for the treatment and prophylaxis of norovirus infections.

Noroviruses are the main cause of epidemic and sporadic gastroenteritis, and the ‘Number 1’ of foodborne illness worldwide. This pathogen is highly contagious and accounts for >50% of these outbreaks with known etiology. Reports on such events are numerous, affect all age groups and frequently hit the headlines. Long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools, restaurants and cruise ships are regularly hit, often requiring them to be temporarily closed. The aim of this project is to discover and develop small-molecule inhibitors of norovirus replication. In the past two years, we set up the necessary in vitro tools and developed unique animal models to carry out this work. In collaboration with the KU Leuven Centre for Drug Design & Discovery, potent and pan-serotype inhibitors will be identified, after which they will be developed towards pre-clinical candidates.