US spending $3bn to develop antiviral medication to fight Covid in early stages of infection

The Antiviral Program for Pandemics will see research into antiviral Covid-19 drug candidates accelerated

Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks with members of media at Abyssinian Baptist Church on 6 June, 2021 in New York City. Dr Fauci has said new antivirals that combat Covid-19 in the early stages of infection could save lives.

(Getty Images)

The Biden administration is set to spend $3.2 billion on a programme dedicated to developing antiviral medication to fight Covid-19 in the early stages of infection.

The new programme, the Antiviral Program for Pandemics, was announced on Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In a statement, the HHS said the investment was made possible “thanks to the American Rescue Plan” – President Joe Biden’s coronavirus stimulus package.

The department said the programme would expedite the “discovery, development and manufacturing of antiviral medicines” accelerated to “develop the next generation of -19 treatments”.

The initiative will see efforts to support clinical trials to test “prioritised drug candidates” for Covid-19 accelerated and expanded.

In a statement, Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the president and NIAID director, said “new antivirals that prevent serious Covid-19 illness and death, especially oral drugs that could be taken at home early in the course of disease, would be powerful tools for battling the pandemic and saving lives”.

“Through multidisciplinary collaborations among leading scientists in academia and industry, this investment from the American Rescue Plan to create the Antiviral Program for Pandemics will help inspire medical innovation and build on the extraordinary success we have seen in developing the COVID-19 vaccines,” he said.

The initiative, the HHS said, will “respond to the urgent need for antivirals to treat Covid-19 by spurring the availability of medicines to prevent serious illness and save lives”.

“It also will build sustainable platforms for discovery and development of antivirals for other viruses with pandemic potential, helping better prepare the nation to face future viral threats,” the department said.

The programme comes as the US continues to drives its vaccination programme forward, with around more than half of the country’s population having received at least one dose.

“The remarkable and rapid development of vaccines and testing technology has shown how agile scientific discovery can be when we combine the resources of public agencies, private entities, and our nation’s most brilliant and creative minds,” Dr Francis Collins, National Institute of Health director, said in a statement.

“We will leverage these same strengths as we construct a platform for the discovery and development of effective antivirals that will help us defeat Covid-19 and better prepare us for potential future viral pathogens,” Dr Collins said.