Mathematical Modeling of Antiviral Drug Mechanisms of GHP-88309 and ERDRP-0519 for Measles Treatment

Measles has seen a recent resurgence with over 40 million children worldwide at risk of contracting measles due to lack of vaccination. Measles can lead to serious long-lasting complications along with immunosuppression, so treatment options are urgently needed, especially for low- and middle-income countries. Two new antiviral treatments, ERDRP-0519 and GHP-88309 were tested using the canine distemper virus (CDV) in ferrets, which is a model system for measles. In this study, we characterize both the infection dynamics and efficacy of the two drug treatments using the a mathematical modeling approach. A mathematical model of within host viral kinetics was fitted to the experimental data allowing us to directly compare how each treatment influences infection dynamics. The results revealed that ERDRP-0519 reduced viral entry and lowered PBMC growth while GHP-88309 increased the duration of the eclipse phase and enhanced viral clearance. These findings suggest that both drugs are potentially effective measles treatment options, although with slightly different effects on the viral time course. Overall, these insights provide a foundation for optimizing treatment strategies and highlight the potential for both drugs to combat measles and related morbillivirus infections.