Approved Covid antiviral VV116 shows promising early results against Nipah in new study
A study in Emerging Microbes & Infections reports that VV116—an oral antiviral already approved for Covid-19 treatment in China and Uzbekistan—strongly inhibited Nipah virus strains in the lab and improved survival in hamster models, raising hopes for faster treatment options if further research confirms benefits in people.
An existing oral antiviral has delivered encouraging early results against Nipah virus in a new study—offering a potential shortcut in the long race to find practical tools against one of the world’s most closely watched emerging infections.
Researchers in China reported that VV116, a nucleoside drug already approved for Covid-19 treatment in China and Uzbekistan, showed strong activity against Nipah virus in laboratory tests and boosted survival in animal trials. The work was published in Emerging Microbes & Infections under the title “The oral nucleoside drug VV116 is a promising candidate for treating Nipah virus infection.”
Nipah is a bat-borne virus that can cause severe disease and has a high case fatality rate, reported in the range of 40% to 75% in past outbreaks. The World Health Organization lists Nipah as a priority disease under its R&D Blueprint, noting that there are currently no approved drugs or vaccines for Nipah infection, even as candidate products are being developed.
The researchers tested VV116 against two major Nipah virus lineages: the Malaysian genotype (NiV-M) and the more virulent Bangladeshi variant (NiV-B). They reported that both VV116 and its metabolically active form produced strong inhibitory effects in laboratory settings.
VV116 is designed to target the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp)—an enzyme essential for viral replication—meaning it aims to interrupt the virus’s life cycle by blocking its ability to copy itself.
In a lethal infection model using golden hamsters, oral dosing of VV116 at 400 mg per kilogram of body weight achieved a 66.7% survival rate among test subjects, according to the published results. Treated animals also showed markedly reduced viral loads in key organs, including the lungs, spleen and brain.
The study was led by research teams from the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with collaboration from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica and Vigonvita Life Sciences Co., Ltd.
A key reason VV116 is attracting attention is that it already has regulatory approvals for human use for Covid-19 in some countries—something experts say could help accelerate the pathway to clinical evaluation for Nipah, if further studies support safety and effectiveness in this new setting.
The study’s timing also coincides with renewed public health attention on Nipah. In late January, the WHO reported two confirmed Nipah cases in West Bengal, with contacts traced and monitored as part of containment measures.
The findings are an important step, but they remain preclinical—meaning they show promise in lab and animal models, not yet in humans. The next milestones would typically include further dosing and safety work, followed by carefully designed clinical studies to see whether the results translate into real-world benefit.
Researchers also suggested VV116 could potentially be explored not only as a treatment, but as a preventive option for high-risk groups—such as healthcare workers, laboratory personnel and people in outbreak zones—subject to future evidence and regulatory review.
