New oral antiviral blocks measles transmission in ferrets
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- GHP-88310 prevented a measles-like virus (canine distemper virus) from spreading between ferrets through both direct contact and shared airspace, according to a study published in Nature Microbiology by Georgia State University's Center for Translational Antiviral Research
- The drug worked when given shortly before or after exposure and, when used therapeutically on already-infected ferrets, shortened disease duration and reduced the contagiousness window
- First author Carolin Lieber called the airborne transmission prevention "unprecedented for a viral polymerase inhibitor," noting GHP-88310 is a broad-spectrum inhibitor of the viral polymerase enzyme the virus needs to replicate
- Senior author Richard Plemper said the drug could augment traditional ring vaccination against measles, with the study designed to recapitulate household and classroom transmission scenarios
- Measles has surged in the US since 2025, causing thousands of infections, hundreds of hospitalizations, and three confirmed deaths, while Canada and Mexico have also seen major outbreaks threatening North America's elimination status
- GHP-88310 is now being prepared for formal clinical trials, with prior characterization published in Science Advances and research funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- The ferret-canine distemper model is the closest available analog to human measles because the virus produces a closely related disease in ferrets
Why it matters: With measles resurging across North America—thousands of infections and three deaths in the US since 2025, plus major outbreaks in Canada and Mexico threatening elimination status—public health officials have had no oral drug to deploy during outbreaks. An antiviral that works prophylactically and therapeutically could for the first time give clinicians a tool to complement ring vaccination. The drug is moving toward human clinical trials, but efficacy in people remains untested.
