The need for antiviral therapy and prophylaxis of viral ocular disease.

The cost of development of a compound with clinical potential as an antiviral agent is so great that it cannot be undertaken unless there is likely to be a market that will return the investment. The current practice, assessment of the prospect on the basis of the present market for idoxuridine and calculation of a likely percentage of capture by a potentially superior compound, is basically erroneous and may lead to gross underestimates of the market. In addition to the market for agents effective in treatment of dendritic and amoeboid ulcers, there is a potentially much greater market, first, for somewhat less toxic compounds that may be used more or less continuously over very long periods for prevention of recurrences. Substances with promise of filling each of these requirements are already under investigation. There is also a potential market for therapeutic preparations with activities against a range of agents, particularly herpesviruses, adenoviruses, and chlamydiae, that commonly cause follicular conjunctivitis or keratoconjunctivitis.