COVID Moonshot
To develop a safe, globally accessible, and affordable antiviral pill for COVID-19
current phase of drug development
updated 3 Mar 2026
The COVID Moonshot emerged early in the COVID-19 pandemic a non-profit, open-science consortium of scientists from around the world dedicated to the discovery of safe, globally affordable, straight-to-generic, and easily manufactured antiviral drugs against COVID-19 and future viral pandemics. The project started as a spontaneous virtual collaboration in March 2020 when a group of scientists, academics, pharmaceutical research teams, and students began a worldwide, twitter-fuelled race against the clock to identify new molecules that could block SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Thanks to this unprecedented open collaboration of more than 150 scientists, rapid progress was made to identify key compounds showing excellent antiviral activity against the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2. The most promising molecules proceeded to pre-clinical evaluation, with the consortium working to advance a compound to first-in-human studies.
Together with partners in the US NIH-funded AViDD AI-driven Structure-enabled Antiviral Platform (ASAP), DNDi continued working to progress the development of back-up compounds to the frontrunner SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) inhibitor named DNDI-6510, which ultimately failed in early testing. However, one Moonshot backup compound – ASAP-0017445 – advanced successfully and was selected as a pre-clinical candidate in 2025 after showing promising broad-spectrum activity against SARS-Cov2 and other viruses of the same family, including other viruses of pandemic potential such as MERS-CoV.
Although other entities continue to develop COVID-19 antivirals, there remains a great need for novel, globally accessible, broad-spectrum antivirals to provide additional treatment options and reach patients who are excluded due to drug-drug interactions or lack of affordable access when the next pandemic hits.
Open science and intellectual property
All Moonshot scientific data are available online in the public domain to enable others to freely build on its work and accelerate COVID-19 research. According to a 2022 publication about a COVID-19 antiviral drug, for example, key interactions observed by Moonshot compounds enabled identification of a promising drug developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi, ensitrelvir. The drug has now been approved for use in Japan and Singapore.
Depending on partners’ contribution, patents for manufacturing processes or formulation may be possible for antivirals stemming from Moonshot research, but always subject to ensuring the drug will be globally affordable and easily accessible to everyone who needs it, particularly in resource-limited settings.
How to get involved
The early stages of the Moonshot project were dependent on ideas and designs contributed by scientists and researchers across the globe. Having successfully progressed a compound to the pre-clinical candidate stage, the project now has a new home in the ASAP consortium.
We are now seeking support for the next stages of drug development and are actively looking for partners to support the following activities:
- Co-lead development and registration
- CMC activities: Scale-up and manufacture for clinical trial supply for Phase II/III; Commercial product development
- Clinical development (Phase I-III) activities: DNDi leading phase I (ideally partner to co-lead); Partner to lead phase II/III (DNDi co-lead)
- Registration activities: Dossier preparation and filing to WHO standards
- Expand geographic reach
- Commercial manufacture and distribution to low- and middle-income countries
- Generic companies in various regions to support eventual fast supply to low- and middle-income countries
To get involved, please contact Peter Sjö, Head of Drug Discovery Programme, DNDi: psjo@dndi.org
Project updates
2024
The Moonshot backup compound, ASAP-0017445, has now progressed to a stage that allows for exploratory dose-range-finding or maximum-tolerated-dose studies with sufficient amounts of material synthesized to support these studies (>400 g). Extensive in vitro pre-clinical profiling indicates a very promising profile, in addition ASAP-0017445 show in vitro and in vivo efficacy against a panel of human and non-human coronaviruses. Pharmacokinetic characterization across multiple species and a promising preliminary human dose prediction further support progression of this compound.
2023
The COVID Moonshot project lead compound DNDI-6510 demonstrates in vivo efficacy in pre-clinical SARS-CoV-2 infection models and continues to show an excellent safety profile based on its in vitro selectivity profile and interim in vivo safety pharmacology results. Scale-up chemistry now allows for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure final product on a +100 g scale and with kilo-scale GMP manufacturing ongoing to allow for comprehensive evaluation of DNDI-6510 in non-GLP and GLP safety models, with evaluation in non-GLP safety models now ongoing.
COVID-Moonshot researchers published an article in Science Magazine, in which they explained how crowdsourcing at a massive scale and open science were key in identifying new COVID-19 antivirals designed to be accessible and affordable.
2022
In January 2022, the COVID Moonshot consortium reported the identification of compounds with strong antiviral activity and enzymatic potency against SARS-CoV-2’s main protease. These compounds satisfy the criteria for pre-clinical evaluation in the Moonshot project and will proceed to the next phase of translation.
After thorough pre-clinical testing in the second half of 2022, DNDI-6510 was selected as the best candidate for further development. It showed promising results in early tests and has a predicted human dose of low hundreds of milligrams taken twice or three times a day. The production process for DNDI-6510 has been improved and the team is now seeking suppliers to provide the necessary chemicals to produce a formulation for Phase I studies.
2021
Progress towards candidate molecules has continued apace, with the best compounds demonstrating potencies and human dose predictions in line with emerging therapeutics in the same space (Paxlovid, S-217622).
Moonshot project in the news
- Fierce Biotech – COVID-19 Moonshot pioneers explain success of open innovation
- C&EN – Covid Moonshot yields novel coronavirus antivirals
- MIT Technology Review – How open-source drug discovery could help us in the next pandemic
- Bloomberg – Crowdsourced Covid antiviral project gets $11 million in funding
- The Times – Moonshot is the spanner in the Covid-19 works the country needs
- Libération – Médicament contre le Covid : une piste prometteuse, fruit d’une recherche collaborative
- Le Temps – Trouver un antiviral contre le Covid-19 grâce à la recherche participative – Le Temps
- Radio Télévision Suisse – A la recherche d’une “aspirine” contre le COVID
- Global Health Now – COVID-19 treatments coming soon?
- BBC – Science in Action
- Yahoo – Desarrollo colectivo de antiviral oral para covid recibe US$11M
- Knowable Magazine – Why we are developing a patent-free Covid antiviral therapy
- Bloomberg – Ukraine War Hobbles Covid-Pill Project in Lab Near Front Lines
- BBC – Digital Planet
- Health Policy Watch – The Moonshot: Crowdsourcing to develop the first open-source, generic COVID-19 antiviral pill
- The Medicine Maker – A COVID Moonshot Compilation
Additional information
News & resources
- 26 March 2025 – Antiviral unveiled that goes after multiple coronaviruses, C&EN
- 27 November 2023 – ‘The power of open innovation for drug discovery’: COVID-19 Moonshot pioneers share their story, Fierce Biotech
- 14 November 2023 – Covid Moonshot yields novel coronavirus antivirals, C&EN
- 10 November 2023 – Open science discovery of potent noncovalent SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors, Science
- 10 November 2023 – How open-source drug discovery could help us in the next pandemic, MIT Technology Review
- 24 December 2021 – The moonshot: crowdsourcing to develop the first open-source, generic COVID-19 antiviral pill, Health Policy Watch
- 24 December 2021 – The Moonshot: Crowdsourcing to develop the first open-source, generic COVID-19 antiviral pill, Health Policy Watch
- 21 December 2021 – Moonshot – tech used to learn more about neglected diseases is fighting COVID [from 19’12], BBC
- 27 September 2021 – COVID Moonshot funded by COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator to rapidly develop a safe, globally accessible and affordable antiviral pill
and hundreds of open science contributors around the word!
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