Major Antiviral Drug Breakthrough by COVID Moonshot

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Jerusalem: Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) revealed on Friday that the COVID Moonshot project has discovered a compound showing strong potential to block a key protein essential for COVID-19 virus replication.

Published in the journal Science, the report highlights that this compound works differently from existing antiviral drugs, offering a fresh approach to inhibiting the virus.

The initiative, driven by an open science model, allows pharmaceutical companies to convert discovered compounds into generic drugs without patents, making them more affordable for low-income countries and populations.

“This discovery demonstrates the success of the COVID Moonshot’s collaborative and transparent research framework,” WIS said, emphasizing that all research outputs, data, and tools are openly shared to accelerate global access.

Formed in March 2020, COVID Moonshot is a non-profit consortium of international scientists dedicated to developing safe, globally accessible, and easy-to-manufacture antiviral drugs for COVID-19 and future pandemics.