The last ten years with inosine pranobex – from an "old" therapeutic agent to vaccine research, including anti-cancer vaccines

Overview

Inosine pranobex (IP), also known as inosine pranobex dimepranol, is an immunomodulatory drug with a history spanning more than fifty years. It was first introduced in the 1970s and has since been licensed in more than 50 countries around the world.

It was originally considered a potential drug for AIDS, which raised high hopes at the time of the discovery of the HIV virus. However, after initial interest, its use in this area declined, and for a long time, IP was no longer discussed significantly in professional literature or clinical practice. Renewed interest came only in the last decade, when IP began to reappear in connection with the treatment of acute respiratory infections, diseases caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), and other viral diseases, including COVID-19. It also began to be used as an adjuvant in the foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, and research began on an IP-based anti-tumor vaccine.

Keywords:

NK cells – Respiratory infections – immunomodulation – inosine pranobex – adjuvant