The Covid 19 pandemic has presented the world with challenges of an entirely new magnitude. Millions of deaths worldwide and countless infected people show how enormously humanity can be burdened by pandemics. Avoiding them in the future would have a significant impact on people’s health, well-being and prosperity – a true breakthrough innovation. Drugs that also protect against viruses unknown today and at the same time prevent the spread of these viruses have the potential to save millions of lives even before there are vaccines against a new virus. Developed today, these drugs could be used on day 1 of an emerging outbreak, preventing future pandemics or at least mitigating their impact.

Preventing infection from the start offers a new way to reduce the spread of dangerous pathogens that does not rely on limiting social contact. So-called “transmission-blocking” can prevent the spread of a pandemic without leading to social burdens through isolation.

The SPRIND Challenge “Broad-Spectrum Antivirals” shows that antiviral drugs with broad-spectrum effects could be developed. The “Transmission-Blocking Antivirals” Challenge will now build on these results.

The goal of the Challenge is to further develop a platform technology for broad-spectrum antiviral agents in such a way that prophylactic or postexposure prophylactic administration drastically reduces the infection rate. This can be achieved by various methods, such as administering the drug by inhalation. The drug development should be based on a technology that can be quickly adapted in the event of the emergence of a new virus. At the end of the Challenge, a platform-based broad-spectrum agent with transmission-blocking capability is to be tested in a phase I clinical trial.

Teams can apply for the “Transmission-Blocking Antivirals” Challenge until 31 March 2023. The applications will be reviewed in detail by SPRIND and external experts. The teams with the most promising approaches will be invited to Leipzig on 27 April to present their projects.

Further information can be found here.

Source: SPRIND GmbH