ABSTRACT
Compared with the remarkable progress made in the treatment of bacterial infections during the last five decades, only a few antiviral drugs have had clinical value, and such drugs are available only for a limited number of indications. It is possible to divide the development of antiviral therapeutics into three chronological periods: (a) the past, including the early antiviral agents (idoxuridine, vidarabine, and trifluorothymidine); (b) the present, including acyclovir, prodrugs (famciclovir and valaciclovir) and the numerous drugs for the management of human immunodeficiency virus (1-ITV) infection and its viral complications; and (c) the future, namely hopes for improving antiviral drugs. The characteristics of a good antiviral agent are listed in Table 1. These characteristics should be sought in most new therapeutics. Each of the first two periods have provided important lessons for the development of antiviral drugs in the future.
