{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T18:59:46Z","timestamp":1776711586167,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,7]],"date-time":"2025-03-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741305600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Merck KGaA","award":["2021-06389"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021-06389"]}]},{"name":"Erling-Persson Foundation","award":["2021-06389"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021-06389"]}]},{"name":"Swedish Research Council","award":["2021-06389"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021-06389"]}]},{"name":"Bill and Melinda Gates foundation","award":["2021-06389"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021-06389"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The pandemic threat from newly emerging viral diseases constitutes a major unsolved issue for global health. Antiviral therapy can play an important role in treating and preventing the spread of unprecedented viral infections. A repository of compounds exhibiting broad-spectrum antiviral activity against a series of different viral families would be an invaluable asset to be prepared for future pandemic threats. Utilizing an open innovation crowd-sourcing paradigm, we were able to identify a compound class of diphenylureas that exhibits in vitro antiviral activity against multiple viruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), adenovirus, dengue virus, herpes, and influenza viruses. Compound 4 among the series exhibits strong activity against dengue virus, a growing global health problem with high medical need and no approved antiviral drug. The compounds are active against SARS-CoV-2 in a primary human stem cell-based mucociliary airway epithelium model and also active in vivo, as shown in a murine SARS-CoV-2 infection model. These results demonstrate the potential of the chemical class as antivirals on the one hand and the power of open innovation, crowd-sourcing, and repurposing on the other hand.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v17030385","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,7]],"date-time":"2025-03-07T07:05:46Z","timestamp":1741331146000},"page":"385","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Open Source Repurposing Reveals Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Activity of Diphenylureas"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2355-7974","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ulrich A. 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