AI-designed antiviral drug nominated for future coronavirus pandemics
By Chemtai Kirui || Kass Digital
A new antiviral drug created with artificial intelligence and open science has been nominated for testing against future coronavirus pandemics, in a move researchers say could help Africa secure affordable treatments where COVID-19 medicines were scarce.
The compound, codenamed ASAP-0017445, is the first coronavirus antiviral created through open science and artificial intelligence.
It was developed by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a non-profit with offices in Nairobi, together with global research partners.
Researchers say the drug shows activity against SARS-CoV-2, which caused COVID-19, as well as other viruses such as MERS-CoV.
It is now set to advance to pre-clinical testing before human trials.
“From the outset, our antiviral has been designed to directly become a generic, so it can save as many lives as possible,” said Annette von Delft of the University of Oxford, a partner in the project.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to antivirals was limited in Africa, where most countries relied on vaccines and basic care.
Health experts say affordable, broad-spectrum antivirals could help the region better prepare for the next outbreak.
DNDi has previously worked with Kenyan scientists to develop treatments for neglected diseases such as leishmaniasis and mycetoma.
The drug was developed with input from hundreds of researchers worldwide who submitted more than 18,000 molecular designs in a crowdsourced effort known as the COVID Moonshot.
