The National Institutes of Health will be awarding the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health a $65 million grant, North Carolina congressman David Price announced Wednesday. The grant is for the establishment of an Antiviral Drug Discovery Center at the school. Once finished, the center will be one of nine around the country dedicated to ensuring antiviral drugs will be available in a public health crisis.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of lifesaving antiviral therapies as an essential component of pandemic response,” Price said in a statement. “As the sole appropriator in the North Carolina delegation, I have advocated for increased funding and the establishment of these critical centers.”

The Discovery Center will be affiliated with UNC’s Rapidly Emerging Antiviral Drug Development Initiative, known as READDI. The $65 million grant is part of a $3 billion package of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, which was dedicated to a new “Antiviral Program for Pandemics,” according to the statement from Price. The program aims to accelerate the discovery, development and manufacturing of antiviral medicines.

“Faced with the threat of COVID-19, our world-class scientists did not back down,” said UNC chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz. “We are extremely grateful for this federal research partnership and funding, which enables us to perform cutting-edge research and prepare for whatever might be next on the horizon.”

 

Featured image via UNC-Chapel Hill

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