ASAP-0017445 (Moonshot ASAP)

There is fundamental lack of potent broad-spectrum antivirals ready to be deployed when the next pandemic hits. Together with partners in the AI-driven Structure-enabled Antiviral Platform (ASAP), AViDD Center, funded by the NIH, DNDi is working to progress the development of back-up compounds to the frontrunner SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) inhibitor named DNDI-6510, initially identified by the Covid Moonshot initiative.

The optimization work led by ASAP has successfully resulted in the design and synthesis of non-covalent broad spectrum coronavirus inhibitors of the MERS and SARS-CoV Mpro with further optimized potency and pharmacokinetic properties, demonstrated in vivo efficacy in pre-clinical models of SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV infections. The leading compound, ASAP-0017445, was nominated as a pre-clinical drug candidate in 2025. The broad-spectrum coronavirus inhibitor active in pre-clinical models of viral infection is the first coronavirus antiviral developed through crowdsourcing and open science, and the first with its origins in artificial intelligence (AI).