Potent and broad-spectrum cycloheptathiophene-3-carboxamide compounds that target the PA-PB1 interaction of influenza virus RNA polymerase and possess a high barrier to drug resistance

Influenza viruses are major respiratory pathogens responsible for both seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics worldwide. The current available treatment options have limited efficacy and thus the development of new antivirals is highly needed. We previously reported the identification of a series of cycloheptathiophene-3-carboxamide compounds as influenza A virus inhibitors that act by targeting the protein-protein interactions between the PA-PB1 subunits of the viral polymerase. In this study, we characterized the antiviral properties of the most promising compounds as well as investigated their propensity to induce drug resistance. Our results show that some of the selected compounds possess potent, broad-spectrum anti-influenza activity as they efficiently inhibited the replication of several strains of influenza A and B viruses, including an oseltamivir-resistant clinical isolate, with nanomolar or low-micromolar potency. The most promising compounds specifically inhibited the PA-PB1 binding in vitro and interfered with the influenza A virus polymerase activity in a cellular context, without showing cytotoxicity. The most active PA-PB1 inhibitors showed to possess a drug resistance barrier higher than that of oseltamivir. Indeed, no viral variants with reduced susceptibility to the selected compounds emerged after serial passages of influenza A virus under drug selective pressure. Overall, our studies identified potent PA-PB1 inhibitors as promising candidates for the development of new anti-influenza drugs