Anti-retroviral drugs and vaccines

Abstract

This manuscript summarizes the break-out session held on anti-retroviral drugs and vaccines at the Koala Conservation Workshop: The koala and its retroviruses: implications for sustainability and survival held at San Diego Zoo, April 17–18, 2013. Discussants considered the utility of natural retroviral systems as models for treatment and prevention of koala retrovirus (KoRV) infection, in particular, feline leukemia virus infection of the cat and AIDS virus infections of humans and non-human primates. Key lessons learned from those model systems may be applicable to the development of anti-retroviral drugs for treatment of KoRV infection or vaccines to prevent it. Aspects of the experience with model systems that are most likely to be translatable to KoRV infection include the identification of optimal drug targets, parameters for drug delivery, components of an effective vaccine, and approaches to measure protection.