Antiviral drug

An antiviral drug is a medication designed to fight viruses by targeting specific parts of how viruses reproduce and spread inside your body. These drugs work differently than antibiotics, which fight bacteria, because viruses are much smaller and hijack your cells' machinery to copy themselves, so antivirals must be cleverly designed to interfere with that process without harming your healthy cells. Common examples include drugs used to treat flu, HIV, and cold sores, and more recently, medications developed to combat COVID-19.