UNC-Chapel Hill secures $65 million NIH grant for establishing Antiviral Drug Discovery Center
Summary
They apply state-of-the-art technology to develop oral therapies for viral families who are likely to cause a pandemic in the future.Based on the generous support and vision provided by the North Carolina State Assembly, the Governors Office, and UNC, we have established a joint coalition of scientific leaders to develop antiviral drugs against the threat of pandemic viruses in the 21st century. To achieve these goals, the NIH-sponsored READDI-AViDD Center will work with academic institutions and pharmaceuticals in five countries to prevent life-threatening human coronavirus, flavivirus, alphavirus, and phyllovirus infections. READDI-AC is a wide range of antivirals that reduce the risk of serious illness and death by leveraging the expertise and techniques of academic and industry partners such as Janssen Pharma, Takeda, Chimerix Inc. and Pardes Biosciences. These highly contagious viruses.The catastrophic effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic show a significant need for new antiviral treatments against the threat of existing and future viral diseases, said UNC School of Medicine and co-professor of genetics. The award is part of NIADs Antiviral Program (APP) for pandemics and is an intensive research program designed to accelerate the development of treatments for COVID-19.The AViDD Center will conduct research on the early identification and validation of new viral targets with the aim of identifying small molecules and biotherapies that directly block viral targets.