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A Pill for Smallpox

By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 17, 2005

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A new drug may someday treat smallpox, according to a report presented at the 15th International Conference on Antiviral Research in Prague.

The drug is called HDP-CDV, hexadecyloxypropyl-cidovir. This tongue twister of a medicine currently is used to treat smallpox and other pox-like viruses such as cowpox, which affects mice. Animals don’t get smallpox itself.

The pill works better than the I-V form and a much smaller the dose is needed.

Cells absorb the oral form more readily and it inhibits the pox-virus more easily than the I-V form.

Still the I-V form of the drug worked well in mice with cowpox. Starting I-V therapy within four days of disease onset cured nearly all of the mice. Delaying the therapy leads to bad results.

Since smallpox takes two weeks to develop the new pill could help treat unvaccinated people exposed to the virus. HDP–CDV requires more animal and human research as well as FDA approval but the drug gives us great hope in the war against bio-terrorism.

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