INTRODUCTION
respiratory infections, deaths
RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS, RSV INFECTION, RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS (RSV)
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is estimated to annually cause 30 million respiratory infections world‐wide, particularly in young children, with around three million associated hospital admissions and >60,000 in‐hospital deaths in children younger than 5 years.A promising target for RSV drug development is the class I viral trimeric fusion (F) glycoprotein, which mediates RSV entry in response to binding of the attachment (G) glycoprotein to a host receptor. Several molecules targeting F protein have been evaluated in clinical challenge models in adults as well as in children with an acute RSV infection but with limited success.AK0529 (ziresovir) is a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable RSV F protein inhibitor.Based on this profile, we performed a two‐part proof‐of‐concept Phase 2 study in infants aged 1–24 months hospitalized with RSV infection.