In silico study: ADMET-driven pharmacokinetic profiling of antiviral compounds for pre-clinical screening framework of intranasal drug development.

The ongoing emergence of respiratory viral pathogens, including novel variants and established threats such as influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), continues to challenge global health systems due to limited specific therapeutic options. Intranasal antiviral delivery represents a promising approach for targeting respiratory tract infections; however, drug development frequently fails due to inappropriate pharmacokinetic properties. This study employed computational ADMET Predictor tools to systematically evaluate the physicochemical and potential pharmacokinetic properties of ten reference compounds, including nine approved antiviral drugs and ivermectin, a repurposed antiparasitic agent with reported antiviral activity and prior intranasal investigation: Zanamivir, Ribavirin, Oseltamivir, Favipiravir, Remdesivir, Nitazoxanide, Acyclovir, Lopinavir, Molnupiravir, and Ivermectin. Computational predictions were validated against experimental literature data to establish evidence-based criteria ranges. Key parameters related to intranasal drug delivery, covering physicochemical, absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, and toxicity properties, were systematically analyzed. The analysis resulted in revised criteria including molecular weight (Mwt), pH, lipophilicity (Log P), water solubility (Sw and SpH), Volume of distribution (Vd), P-glycoproteins substrate (Pgp substrate), and skin sensitization (Sens_Skin) to demonstrate 80% concordance with approved drug properties. This framework provides the preliminary evidence-based screening criteria as a tool to identify promising drug candidates suitable for preclinical evaluation in intranasal formulation development.