COVID Moonshot
COVID Moonshot is a collaborative open-science project started in March 2020 with the goal of developing an un-patented oral antiviral drug to treat SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.[1][2] COVID Moonshot researchers are targeting the proteins needed to form functioning new viral proteins.[3] They are particularly interested in proteases such as 3C-like protease (Mpro), a coronavirus nonstructural protein that mediates the breaking and replication of proteins.[2]
See also: Use and development of software for COVID-19 pandemic mitigation, Citizen science § COVID-19 pandemic, and COVID-19 drug developmentCOVID Moonshot may be the first open-science community effort for the development of an antiviral drug.[2] Hundreds of scientists around the world, from academic and industrial organizations, have shared their expertise, resources, data, and results to more rapidly identify, screen, and test candidate compounds for the treatment of COVID-19.[4]
Potential for antiviral treatments[edit]
COVID Moonshot anticipates that they will select three pre-clinical candidates by March 2022, to be followed by preclinical safety and toxicology testing and identification of needed chemistry, manufacturing and control (CMC) steps. Based on that data, the most promising candidate will be chosen. Phase-1 clinical trials, the first stage of testing in human subjects, are projected to begin by June 2023.[30][20]
Unlike a vaccine, which increases immunity and protects against catching an infectious disease, an antiviral drug treats someone who is already sick by attacking the virus and countering its effects, potentially lessening both symptoms and further transmission.[2]
Mpro is present in other coronaviruses that cause disease, so an antiviral drug that targets Mpro may also be effective against coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS and future pandemics.
Mpro does not mutate easily, so it is less likely that variants of the virus will adapt that can avoid the effects of such a drug.[2]