Why making of antiviral medicine is harden than the antibacterial medicine?

Antibacterial medicines are often more straightforward to develop than antiviral medicines for several reasons:

Target Differences: Antibacterial drugs target bacterial cells, which can be significantly different from human cells. Antibiotics can specifically inhibit bacterial growth and reproduction without significantly affecting human cells. In contrast, viruses replicate inside host cells, making it much harder to target the virus without affecting the host cell's normal functioning. Some antiviral medicines have adverse side effects due to their interactions with human cells.

Mutation Rates: Viruses have much higher mutation rates compared to bacteria. This rapid mutation can quickly generate resistant viral strains, rendering the antiviral drug ineffective. Therefore, developing antiviral drugs that can stay ahead of viral mutations is challenging.

Bacteria, on the other hand, have relatively lower mutation rates, making it less likely for them to develop resistance quickly.

Limited Host Specificity: Viruses often have a narrow host range, meaning they only infect specific species or cell types. This can limit the market potential of antiviral drugs since they may only be effective against a small number of viral infections.

In comparison, antibacterial drugs can often target a wider range of bacterial infections.

Broader Resistance Mechanisms: Bacteria have multiple mechanisms to resist antibiotics. Still, these mechanisms are often specific to the type of antibiotic, meaning bacteria must develop unique resistance mechanisms for each class of antibacterial drugs. In contrast, viruses have various resistance mechanisms, some of which can confer resistance to multiple antiviral medicines.

Lack of Universal Targets: Unlike bacteria, viruses do not have universal targets for drug development. Viruses have diverse structures and replication mechanisms, which makes identifying and targeting common vulnerabilities challenging.

High Evolutionary Potential: Viruses have a high evolutionary potential, allowing them to rapidly adapt to selective pressure from antiviral drugs. This characteristic makes it difficult to develop antiviral medicines that can remain effective over the long term.

Due to these factors, the process of developing antiviral medicines often involves extensive research, careful evaluation of potential candidates, and the need to continually monitor and update therapies to stay ahead of viral resistance.