Novo Nordisk Foundation and Partners Launch Pandemic Antiviral Discovery (PAD) Initiative with $90 Million Commitment

Beijing, March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Open Philanthropy, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced the launch of the Pandemic Antiviral Discovery (PAD) initiative, committing to coordinate an investment of 90 million US dollars. The aim of this new initiative is to promote the discovery and early development of antiviral drugs in response to potential future global pandemics. With equitable access as its core principle, the joint initiators are all committed to ensuring that discoveries and innovations supported by PAD can benefit people in low- and middle-income countries.

The goal of PAD is: For viruses that may cause global pandemics, including coronaviruses, paramyxoviruses, and orthomyxoviruses, help global researchers identify and develop antiviral drug candidates that can be advanced to Phase 2 clinical trials at any time. These three virus families are widely considered to have the highest potential to cause future global pandemics, and many of the diseases they cause primarily affect people in low- and middle-income countries, resulting in relatively weak market incentives for developing effective treatments. These virus families include some significant epidemic threats, such as Nipah virus, influenza, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Compared with biologics, small molecule drugs can be administered orally, offering higher patient accessibility and lower costs. Therefore, PAD will focus on the research and development of small molecule drugs, striving to ensure that countries around the world can rapidly develop effective and accessible antiviral treatments when the threat of a global pandemic re-emerges, and apply them widely in an equitable manner.

"The ongoing prevalence of COVID-19 reminds us that the world needs to collaborate on investing in the development of next-generation tools to address various emerging threats," said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. "We cannot wait for another global pandemic to begin drug development."

PAD will leverage the resources, knowledge, and expertise of various foundations, initially focusing on a few support projects, with the aim of:

"We see this initiative as a significant opportunity to address the enormous risks to the health of people around the world," said Alexander Berger, co-CEO of Open Philanthropy. "A globally pandemic virus could cause massive and even unprecedented damage, so we are highly interested in groundbreaking research that can be applied to multiple types of pathogens."

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that global health security cannot be achieved through isolated units, and contributions from both public and private sectors will be needed in the future. Through PAD, various funding parties will collaborate with governments, academic institutions, and private sector funders to help promising antiviral drug candidates mitigate risks and increase their likelihood of entering clinical trials.

"The global COVID-19 pandemic will eventually end, but the urgency to invest in essential tools to prevent and stop global pandemics will continue to grow," said Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "If we want to prepare for potential future global pandemics, we must ensure that antiviral drugs can be made available to everyone in need within a very short time and at a low cost. We look forward to collaborating with other funding partners from public, private, and non-profit sectors to accelerate this important initiative that places equitable access at its core."

PAD partners will adopt a series of models, including direct grants and Requests for Proposals (RFPs), within the established research topics. The first RFP was announced at the International Conference on Antiviral Research (ICAR) held in Seattle, Washington, USA, from March 21-25. The focus of the first RFP is the Henipavirus genus of the Paramyxoviridae family, which includes the Nipah virus with a fatality rate of 40% to 75%. Researchers from around the world are encouraged to submit proposals for this RFP and future RFPs; all RFPs will be published onwww.padinitiative.com。