MMV launches the COVID Box to stimulate new drug research
MMV contributes to the global hunt for new therapies for the SARS-CoV-2 virus with the launch of the COVID Box. The aim is to catalyse the discovery of drugs for COVID-19 disease by providing researchers with an initial set of 80 marketed drugs or compounds in development with known or predicted activity against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. An additional 80 compounds will be added to the Box in the coming weeks.
In the space of a few months, COVID-19 has infected almost 7 million people and caused over 400,000 deaths, placing unprecedented pressure on healthcare systems and case management.”The spread of COVID-19 threatens to compromise control efforts for other infectious diseases like malaria by jeopardising access to life-saving antimalarial medicines and emergency care,” says Dr David Reddy, MMV’s CEO. “This pandemic calls for a united front, particularly with regard to research and development of new medicines. MMV has assembled the open access COVID Box to help spearhead such a collaborative response.”
