Anti-AIDS Drug Development PDF

PREFACE

It has been over a decade since hum an imm unodeficiency virus (HIV) was discovered as the causative agent of AIDS. In spite of a world-wide effort coupled with an enorm ous investm ent in all aspects of AIDS research, HIV continues to rem ain a form idable and as yet unsurpassed im pedim ent to the antiviral chem otherapy of AIDS. Developments in the m olecular biology of HIV have revealed that the virus is endowed with a com plex genetic com position and a m olecular architecture that provides it with in h eren t and evolving m echanisms for im m une evasion and drug resistance. Such properties alone makes HIV the m ost sought after drug target in the history of drug design research. In response to this unprecedented challenge, researchers around the globe have m ounted a vigorous and tireless attack on a variety of potential drug targets.

This book aims to cover the m ajor arenas of drug developm ent that have contributed to our better understanding of the pros and cons of the various efforts of chemists and biologists. Clearly, there is m ore work to be done. Biologists need to explore newer antiviral targets for HIV replication. Medicinal chemists need to look for and design molecules that will rem ain highly potent and selective, have m inim al toxicities and be devoid of inducing resistance. Considering the inability of currently used agents to cure AIDS, it may be that we need a new paradigm in our search for potential agents. Com pounds having newer mechanisms of action should be explored if they have a reasonable selectivity index. Existing derivatives that interact with known targets can also be pursued, b u t they will need significant structural m odifications to overcome their limitations. In o ther words, we need to encourage all possible strategies with the hope that these approaches will provide the n eeded curative recipe to finally trium ph over AIDS.

Author: Prem Mohan, Baba Masanori