Covid-19 roundup: Gates Foundation, Exscientia team up on pandemic antiviral discovery pact; Novavax opens trial for coronavirus/flu combo vaccine
UK-based AI discovery outfit Exscientia has signed its name to a $70 million collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to drum up five antiviral candidates for use against coronaviruses and potential pandemic viruses, the partners said Wednesday.
The partnership will pay Exscientia $35 million in equity through the Gates Foundation’s Strategic Investment Fund with the potential for more grant funding. Exscientia, meanwhile, will front $35 million in matching funds to support the discovery work up to Phase I. The term of the pact is four years, and Exscientia will be tasked with finding “small molecule therapeutics with less susceptibility to variants and greater patient access than current approaches,” the company said in a release.
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