Pioneering Role of T.C. Merigan in the Treatment of Various Virus Infections.

The research of Prof. Dr. Thomas C. Merigan has spanned almost half a century. It started in 1963 with his interest in interferon (i). He then identified pyran copolymer as a synthetic polyanionic inducer of interferon (ii), and thereafter thiophosphate-substituted polyribonucleotides, i.e., poly r(s¯A-s¯U) (iii). He recognized the potential of interferon as a therapeutic agent for virus infections (iv), varicella-zoster virus (VZV) being the first case in point (v). His interest then shifted to the treatment of herpes virus [herpes simplex virus (HSV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV)] infections (vi) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections (vii), to end up with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections (viii, ix, x). T.C. Merigan's pioneering work on the treatment of so many pivotal virus infections deserves further in-depth clinical evaluation.