UK-based Exscientia, an AI-driven pharmatech company, has announced a $35 million program-related investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop anti-viral therapeutics against coronavirus and other viruses with pandemic potential.

The Gates Foundation's Strategic Investment Fund will make a $35 million equity investment in Exscientia, which will provide $35 million in matching contributions and could receive additional grant funding to advance development candidates through commercialization. The partnership initially will focus on developing broad-spectrum coronavirus agents — such as MERS, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), and its variants — including accelerating Exscientia's lead program, which targets the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. The partnership subsequently will be expanded to include the development of therapeutics for influenza and Paramyxoviridae (e.g., Nipah), with the possibility of developing additional programs.

The foundation also will contribute its extensive expertise in funding the design, development, and distribution of antiviral drugs, while Exscientia will lead the initial antiviral projects and apply its platform technology to research, discover, and develop up to five Phase 1-ready small molecule therapeutics for future pandemic preparedness. While Exscientia will maintain worldwide rights to all developed products, it has committed to making the anti-viral products affordable and accessible to people in developing countries.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic underscores the urgency to develop safe and effective broad-spectrum drugs to expand our armory against viruses and their variants," said Exscientia CEO Andrew Hopkins. "We need to fight today's pandemic but also ensure we are prepared with new drugs to combat viruses with future pandemic potential. We are honored to work alongside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance this mission by ensuring accessibility and affordability of these therapeutics globally. We believe that our AI-driven platform can accelerate the creation of better, more effective therapeutics that can address some of the world's most critical and emerging health risks."

(Image credit: Columbia University)