SCAR-Fc

sCAR-Fc is an experimental prophylactic treatment against coxsackievirus B3 infections, which can cause myocarditis and, in severe cases, progress to dilated cardiomyopathy, a weakened and enlarged heart. Rather than blocking viral replication once a cell is infected, sCAR-Fc works by mimicking the natural coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor found on the surface of heart muscle cells, competitively binding the virus so it cannot attach to and enter those cells; the immune system can then recognize and eliminate the resulting virus-receptor complex. The treatment remains experimental and is limited to preventive, pre-exposure use, since administering it more than three days after initial viral exposure provides no benefit because cardiac damage has already become too severe by that point.