The Challenge of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Human Challenge Studies

The development of drugs for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a major cause of respiratory disease in young children and high-risk adults, is a high priority.(1-3) In this issue of the Journal, Ahmad et al. report the results of a human challenge trial of EDP-938, a small molecule targeting the RSV nucleoprotein (N protein).(4) Challenge studies with predictable virus shedding and mild-to-moderate symptoms affecting the upper respiratory tract in study participants have been used to evaluate the efficacy of antiviral drugs and to collect data that would support the conduct of subsequent clinical trials. Multiple drugs targeting the . . .