COVID Moonshot proposes new Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Center embracing open science and open-IP for global, equitable access
/The COVID Moonshot has shown our open science, structure-enabled AI-driven approach can go from fragment screen to preclinical phase in just 18 months spending less than $1M. We think our model is capable of changing antiviral discovery for pandemics for good.
Drug discovery for pandemics is broken. Patents don't make sense for future pandemics with uncertain timelines or for diseases that don't yet exist. The profit motive failed to deliver antivirals after SARS and MERS, and millions died of COVID.
We show there is an alternative: By building a robust, open pipeline of oral antivirals, we can prevent future pandemics, and bring a swift end to this one. There is a better way.
The first-generation oral antiviral from the COVID Moonshot is rapidly progressing toward the clinic under the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), with the World Health Organization Access to COVID Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) funding our work under an open IP model that will ensure true global, equitable access for a true global health threat.
All pandemics are global health threats. Our best defense is a healthy global antiviral discovery community with a robust pipeline of open discovery tools. We have a plan to make this happen ASAP: with the AI-driven Structure-enabled Antiviral Platform.
We're thrilled to have had the opportunity to submit our ASAP concept to the recent NIH call to fund multiple Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Centers, which aim to prevent the US from being caught without clinic-ready antivirals before the next pandemic.
The best use of public funds to build a pipeline of clinic-ready antivirals is to ensure everyone can get them, so that we won't need them here at home.
Drug discovery for pandemics must be focused on global, equitable access from the very start.
We’ve assembled an incredible team for ASAP: From the identification of resistance-robust targets to high-throughput structural biology at Diamond Light Source to AI-driven hit and lead optimization leveraging the talents and capabilities of MedChemica, PostEra, Folding@home, embracing open science throughout.
With the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) as a full partner in ASAP, we would aim to generate clinic-ready drugs under an open-IP model that could achieve true global, equitable access.
Read more about our concept here: [PDF]
