Invited Speaker

Global Infectious Diseases: The potential for Protease Inhibitors in Developing New Therapeutics
Ben M. Dunn
USA

The success of HIV protease inhibitors as antiviral agents has made it clear that small molecule inhibitors of proteolytic enzymes can be part of a viable strategy to address infectious diseases. A large number of infectious agents impact human health; new drugs must be developed against these in order to improve the health status of people in the tropical regions of the world. This presentation will focus on targets found in several bacterial, viral, and protozoan infections. In all cases, either gene knock-outs or inhibition of proteolytic enzymes has been shown to reduce infections. This provides a foundation for future work on fine tuning specificity and drug-like properties.