Investigational drugs in early development for treating dengue infection.
BACKGROUND
Dengue has emerged as the most significant arboviral disease of the current century. A drug for dengue is an urgent unmet need. As conventional drug discovery efforts have not produced any promising clinical candidates, there is a shift toward re-positioning pre-existing drugs for dengue to fast-track dengue drug development.


METHODS
This article provides an update on the current status of recently completed and ongoing dengue drug trials. All dengue drug trials described in this article were identified from a list of >230 trials that were returned upon searching the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform web portal using the search term 'dengue' on December 31(st), 2015.


CONCLUSIONS
None of the handful of drugs tested so far has yielded encouraging results. Early trial experience has served to emphasize the challenge of drug testing in the short therapeutic time window available, the need for tools to predict 'high-risk' patients early on and the limitations of the existing pre-clinical model systems. Significant investment of efforts and resources is a must before the availability of a safe, effective and inexpensive dengue drug becomes a reality. Currently, supportive fluid therapy remains the only option available for dengue treatment.
a Department of Biological Sciences , Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani , Hyderabad , India.
Hemalatha
H
Beesetti
b Recombinant Gene Products Group , International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology , New Delhi , India.
Navin
N
Khanna
a Department of Biological Sciences , Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani , Hyderabad , India.
Sathyamangalam
S
Swaminathan
D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003715:Dengue / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000187:drug effects*; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000191:economics; D058492:Drug Repositioning; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D015507:Drugs, Investigational
Dengue virus; antihelminthic; antimalarial; antiviral drugs; balapiravir; celgosivir; clinical trials; corticosteroids; lovastatin; re-purposing