Note that even on commercial sites they point this out:
https://www.medchemexpress.com/im-250.html
"Adibelivir (IM-250) is an orally active helicase-primase inhibitor. Adibelivir is effective against HSV infection and reduces reactivation of latent HSV."
See the word "reduces". Nowhere does it insinuate "permanently"; besides, permanently is simply a misnomer here. Even "latent" is a misnomer; it simply is integrated DNA. The only way to get rid of it is to cut this DNA out. Which therapeutic does so with efficiency? Even CRISPR-Cas9 has off-target effects. There are no permanent cures, and insinuating otherwise by using "permanently", is simply and factually incorrect.
And we do know that it’s possible to reduce the pool of reactivation-competent HSV genomes by the presence of IFNα during primary infection:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12764766/
This causes PML-NB formation → more viral genomes with H3K9me3 + ATRX → resists eviction by the H3K9me3S10ph “methyl/phospho switch” → stops Phase I HSV transcription (and VP16 expression).
Who’s to say an HPI like IM-250 isn’t altering epigenetic markers in viral episomes in this way? Innovative Molecules’ own press release states that some sort of permanent or semi-permanent modification may take place:
https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/analyst-comment/es...
>Furthermore, testing in animal models showed that adibelivir affected the latent viral reservoir, suggesting that it has potential as a long-term curative therapy for HSV.