Approaches to the development of novel inhibitors of hepatitis C virus replication

Chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus is a major health problem. Conventional therapy, with interferon-alpha is effective in only a minority of patients. The failure of current treatments has led to a major initiative to identify new antiviral agents. In the absence of a tissue culture model for hepatitis C infection the pharmaceutical industry has been obliged to investigate the basic biology of hepatitis C viral replication. Such studies have identified novel translational regulatory elements and new proteolytic enzymes which may serve as targets for new antiviral drugs.