An experimental antiviral pill could help stop measles outbreaks. The pill, called GHP-88310, prevented a measles-like virus from spreading in ferrets. This suggests it could work alongside vaccines to control measles in people.
Measles has been reappearing in the United States, causing thousands of cases, hundreds of hospitalizations, and three deaths since 2025. Canada and Mexico have also seen large outbreaks and deaths.
Vaccinating people around known cases, called ring vaccination, helps control outbreaks. However, scientists are looking for more ways to stop the virus from spreading. They want to know if an antiviral pill taken by mouth could prevent transmission if given before or after exposure.
We're a new kind of news feed.
Regular news is designed to drain you. We're a non-profit built to restore you. Every story we publish is scored for impact, progress, and hope.
Start Your News DetoxTesting a New Approach
Researchers at Georgia State University studied this idea using ferrets. They used canine distemper virus, which causes a similar illness to measles in these animals. The study found that GHP-88310 stopped the virus from spreading through both direct contact and shared air.
Richard Plemper, a senior author of the study, explained that quickly stopping measles outbreaks is key to controlling the virus. He noted that this drug could help improve traditional ring vaccination efforts.
How the Drug Blocks Spread
The study, published in Nature Microbiology, set up a system to pair infected and uninfected ferrets. Some pairs had direct contact, while others shared the same air.
Plemper said the study was designed to mimic how viruses spread between people. This includes close contact in a home or more distant contact in places like classrooms.
GHP-88310 works by targeting viral polymerase. This is an enzyme viruses use to copy their genetic material. The drug is a broad-spectrum inhibitor, meaning it works against many different viruses. Its development was first described in Science Advances.
Giving the drug to ferrets shortly before or after exposure stopped the virus from spreading through both direct contact and airborne routes. This preventive use is known as prophylaxis.
Carolin Lieber, the study's first author, was excited that the pill completely prevented airborne transmission in the ferret model. She noted this is new for a viral polymerase inhibitor and shows the drug's strong antiviral power.
Shorter Contagious Period
The researchers also found that treating already infected ferrets reduced their symptoms. It also shortened the time they could pass the virus to others.
Plemper believes that if these results apply to humans, the drug could shorten the disease duration. This would reduce the social and economic burden of long quarantines and help manage outbreaks.
The researchers are now getting GHP-88310 ready for human clinical trials.
Deep Dive & References
Antiviral GHP-88310 blocks contact-mediated and airborne transmission in a ferret model of measles-like disease - Nature Microbiology, 2026
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded this study.
