Activity of enisamium, an isonicotinic acid derivative, against influenza viruses in differentiated normal human bronchial epithelial cells:

AimsNew therapeutics for the control of influenza virus infections are needed to alleviate the burden caused by seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics, and to overcome the potential risk of drug-resistance emergence. Enisamium iodide (Amizon®, Farmak) is currently approved for clinical use for the treatment of influenza in 11 countries which includes Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. However, experimental evidence of the antiviral activity of enisamium has not been reported.MethodsAntiviral activity of enisamium was assessed by virus yield reduction assays using differentiated normal human bronchial epithelial cells. Permeability of enisamium into differentiated normal human bronchial epithelial cells and its cytotoxicity were also assessed, and comparisons with other cell lines were made.ResultsEnisamium inhibited replication of multiple subtypes of influenza A viruses, including seasonal H1N1, 2009 pandemic H1N1, seasonal H3N2, the zoonotic H5N1 and H7N9, neuraminidase inhibitor...