Researchers at WashU Medicine led by Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor in the John T. Milliken Department of Medicine, received a $2.5 million SMART Antiviral Prize to support their search for the first broad-spectrum antivirals to treat chikungunya and related viruses. The prize is part of a multistage competition run by the federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Diamond’s group is one of nine winning Concept Stage teams selected to identify promising antiviral candidates.
Alphaviruses in the Togaviridae family — including chikungunya, which causes disabling joint pain, and equine encephalitis viruses, which can cause lasting brain damage — are spread by mosquitoes and have sickened millions of people worldwide, including in the U.S. No antiviral drug is approved to treat them. Diamond’s team aims to change that by targeting the enzyme these viruses use to copy their own genetic material. Because this enzyme doesn’t vary much from one alphavirus to the next, a compound that targets it could work against many alphaviruses at once.
Read more on the Inside WashU Medicine website.
