Viruses 2011, 3(2), 63-82; doi:10.3390/v3020063
Review

Efficacy of CMX001 as a Prophylactic and Presymptomatic Antiviral Agent in New Zealand White Rabbits Infected with Rabbitpox Virus, a Model for Orthopoxvirus Infections of Humans

Amanda D. Rice 1 email, Mathew M. Adams 1 email, Bernhard Lampert 2 email, Scott Foster 2 email, Randall Lanier 2 email, Alice Robertson 2 email, George Painter 2 email and Richard W. Moyer 1,* email
1 Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, 1600 SW Archer Rd, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA 2 Chimerix, Inc., 2505 Meridian Parkway Suite, 340 Durham, NC 27713, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 23 December 2010 / Accepted: 4 January 2011 / Published: 25 January 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antivirals Against Poxviruses)
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Abstract: CMX001, a lipophilic nucleotide analog formed by covalently linking 3‑(hexdecyloxy)propan-1-ol to cidofovir (CDV), is being developed as a treatment for smallpox. CMX001 has dramatically increased potency versus CDV against all dsDNA viruses and, in contrast to CDV, is orally available and has shown no evidence of nephrotoxicity in healthy volunteers or severely ill transplant patients to date. Although smallpox has been eliminated from the environment, treatments are urgently being sought due to the risk of smallpox being used as a bioterrorism agent and for monkeypox virus, a zoonotic disease of Africa, and adverse reactions to smallpox virus vaccinations. In the absence of human cases of smallpox, new treatments must be tested for efficacy in animal models. Here we first review and discuss the rabbitpox virus (RPV) infection of New Zealand White rabbits as a model for smallpox to test the efficacy of CMX001 as a prophylactic and early disease antiviral. Our results should also be applicable to monkeypox virus infections and for treatment of adverse reactions to smallpox vaccination.
Keywords: CMX001; poxvirus; smallpox treatment; antiviral; rabbitpox

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Rice, A.D.; Adams, M.M.; Lampert, B.; Foster, S.; Lanier, R.; Robertson, A.; Painter, G.; Moyer, R.W. Efficacy of CMX001 as a Prophylactic and Presymptomatic Antiviral Agent in New Zealand White Rabbits Infected with Rabbitpox Virus, a Model for Orthopoxvirus Infections of Humans. Viruses 2011, 3, 63-82.

AMA Style

Rice AD, Adams MM, Lampert B, Foster S, Lanier R, Robertson A, Painter G, Moyer RW. Efficacy of CMX001 as a Prophylactic and Presymptomatic Antiviral Agent in New Zealand White Rabbits Infected with Rabbitpox Virus, a Model for Orthopoxvirus Infections of Humans. Viruses. 2011; 3(2):63-82.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rice, Amanda D.; Adams, Mathew M.; Lampert, Bernhard; Foster, Scott; Lanier, Randall; Robertson, Alice; Painter, George; Moyer, Richard W. 2011. "Efficacy of CMX001 as a Prophylactic and Presymptomatic Antiviral Agent in New Zealand White Rabbits Infected with Rabbitpox Virus, a Model for Orthopoxvirus Infections of Humans." Viruses 3, no. 2: 63-82.

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