Antibiotics abound, but virus-fighting drugs are harder to come by, and Covid-19 amply shows how much we need them. Fortunately, scientists are getting better at making and finding them.

COVID-19 is not the first pandemic, yet much of the world was unprepared to face it. Scientists at UNC are committed to ensuring this lack of preparedness does not happen again.

For decades, scientists warned of the potential for a global coronavirus outbreak. But when SARS-CoV-2 emerged, no therapeutics, drugs, or vaccines were readily available. The Rapidly Emerging Antiviral Drug Development Initiative (READDI) — founded by researchers at UNC and the Structural Genomics Consortium — is not only finding solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also drugs and therapeutics for future viral outbreaks.

Watch the full video here.

John Bamforth oversees the Rapidly Emerging Antiviral Drug Discovery Initiative, a non-profit drug research and development organization that is part of the Eshelman Institute for Innovation.

The mission: to find treatments for COVID-19 and to anticipate what treatments may be needed in future pandemics.

Tech Transfer Central's University-Industry Engagement Advisor highlights READDI's strategic approach to planning for future pandemics.

John Bamforth, director, Eshelman Institute for Innovation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, discusses with University/Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP) what it takes to bring together the world's top pharmaceutical researchers and industry leaders to ensure we're ready for future pandemics.