RSV infection of the lower respiratory tract in infants is the leading cause of pediatric hospitalizations and second to malaria in causing infant deaths worldwide. RSV also causes substantial morbidity in immunocompromised and elderly populations. The only available therapeutic is a prophylactic drug called Palivizumab that is a humanized monoclonal antibody, given to high-risk infants. However, this intervention is expensive and has a limited impact on annual hospitalization rates caused by RSV. No vaccine is available, nor are efficacious antivirals to treat an active infection, and there is still no consensus on how infants with bronchiolitis should be treated during hospital admission. In this review, we briefly outline the function of the RSV proteins and their suitability as therapeutic targets. We then discuss the most promising drug candidates, their inhibitory mechanisms, and whether they are in the process of clinical trials. We also briefly discuss the reasons for some of the failures in RSV therapeutics and vaccines. In summary, we provide insight into current antiviral development and the considerations toward producing licensed antivirals and therapeutics.

婴儿下呼吸道的 RSV 感染是导致儿科住院的主要原因，在全球范围内导致婴儿死亡的原因仅次于疟疾。RSV 还导致免疫功能低下和老年人群的严重发病率。唯一可用的治疗方法是一种名为帕利珠单抗的预防性药物，它是一种人源化单克隆抗体，用于高危婴儿。然而，这种干预费用昂贵，并且对 RSV 引起的年住院率影响有限。没有可用的疫苗，也没有有效的抗病毒药物来治疗活动性感染，对于毛细支气管炎婴儿在住院期间应该如何治疗也没有达成共识。在这篇综述中，我们简要概述了 RSV 蛋白的功能及其作为治疗靶点的适用性。然后，我们讨论了最有希望的候选药物、它们的抑制机制以及它们是否处于临床试验过程中。我们还简要讨论了 RSV 疗法和疫苗中一些失败的原因。总之，我们提供了对当前抗病毒药物开发的见解以及生产许可抗病毒药物和治疗药物的考虑。