REGA Leuven, BE

Role and Contribution

The laboratory of Virology and Experimental Chemotherapy of the Rega Institute is a part of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Leuven. The group of J. Neyts resides under the larger group of Prof. Dr. E. De Clercq (director). The Laboratory has a long-standing experience in antiviral drug research. It has elaborated several new concepts of antiviral therapy and discovered and studied in detail many novel agents of which several are currently in clinical use or have at least achieved advanced preclinical testing or phase 1 clinical trials. These include (1) Brivudin; against HSV and VZV (2) Cidofovir against CMV (and herpes-, papova-; adeno- and poxviruses) (3) Adefovir dipivoxil against HBV; (4) Stavudine against HIV-1 (although first to publish the antiviral activity, the priority date of the patent was filed 3 weeks later than the group at Yale); (5) Emivirine against HIV-1 (6) Tivirapine against HIV-1 (7) bicyclams against HIV-1 (8) Loviride against HIV-1 (8) Tenofovir against HIV-1, (9) phosphoramidate prodrugs of HIV drugs. Since 2000 the group has also a strong antiviral programme on RNA viruses including Flaviviridae (HCV, pestiviruses, flaviviruses) and picornaviruses. This led to the identification of highly selective inhibitors of HCV, BVDV (patented) and picornaviruses. J. Neyts is associate professor at the KULeuven. He published 120 papers in peer reviewed journals [for example since 1998 as first or senior author 41 papers with an average impact factor of 4.0]. He received various awards, for example in 2003 the “William Prusoff Lecture Award” (for excellence in the field) from the International Society on Antiviral Research. Dr. P. Leyssen is a post-doctoral fellow that is together with Ir. Jan Paeshuyse and technician Katrien Geerts responsible for the antiviral programme on HCV and flaviviruses. Ir. Armando De Palma, Dr. Elizaveta Padalko and technician Marie Henriette-Stuyck are responsible for the antiviral programme on picornaviruses.