By focusing on general molecular mechanisms of antiviral drugs rather than therapies for individual viruses, this ready reference provides the critical knowledge needed to develop entirely novel therapeutics and to target new viruses. It begins with a general discussion of antiviral strategies, followed by a broad survey of known viral targets, such as reverse transcriptases, proteases, neuraminidases, RNA polymerases, helicases and primases, as well as their known inhibitors. The final section contains several cases studies of recent successful antiviral drug development. Edited by Erik de Clercq, the world authority on small molecule antiviral drugs, who has developed more new antivirals than anyone else.