US will spend $3B to develop antiviral pills for COVID-19

The US will invest more than $3 billion to advance the development of antiviral pills for COVID-19 and other pathogens to prepare for future pandemics, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday.

The nation’s top infectious disease expert announced the $3.2 billion investment as part of a new “antiviral program for pandemics” to develop drugs to address symptoms caused by potentially dangerous viruses.

“It’s a whole-of-government effort aimed at developing the next generation of COVID-19 treatments, as well as preparing us for future threats,” Fauci said at the White House’s coronavirus press briefing.

Fauci said the new program would allocate funds to “accelerating things that are already in progress” for COVID-19 in addition to working on developing new therapies.