14. Loeffler-Lecture von Professor Johan Neyts, PhD (University of Leuven, Rega Institute for Medical Research)

Antiviral drugs transformed the treatment of infections caused by HIV, HBV, HCV and herpesviruses. For many other (often neglected and life‑threatening) viral diseases, such drugs are not available. Broader-acting antiviral drugs (ideally spanning entire viral families) will also be a critical pillar of epi- and pandemic preparedness. I will present our approach to develop novel antiviral strategies and drugs. As one of the examples, I will discuss the discovery and development of Mosnodenvir, the first antiviral drug to show activity against dengue in humans. [suggested reading : Kaptein et al., Nature. (2021) 598:504-509 ; Laporte et al., Nature (2025) 640 :514-52]

Johan Neyts research is focused on the development of antiviral strategies and antiviral drugs against endemic, emerging and neglected viral infections. He is responsible for the Belgian VirusBankPlatform, where tools and models for epidemic and pandemic preparedness are developed. He is past-president of the International Society for Antiviral Research, scientific advisor of multiple (inter)national organizations. He published ~700 scientific papers, received multiple (inter)national awards and gave hundreds of invited lectures as well as interviews to lay-press.