BioMed X, an independent biomedical research institute, has launched its new Rapid Antiviral Response Platform (RAR). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, BioMed X aims to develop a portfolio of ultrafast new antiviral drug discovery, development and mass-manufacturing tools that will allow the identification of a new viral pathogen to 10,000 doses of a safe and potent new medication in less than 6 months.

The RAR Platform will be developed using BioMed X’s new innovation model which brings together biomedical scientists from top universities and research institutions all over the world to work on solutions for research challenges in the fields of biomedicine, molecular biology, cell biology and diagnostics. Until now, each research project at BioMed X has been sponsored by an industry partner such as Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, AbbVie, and Roche.

The RAR Platform will consist of eight project modules, each focusing on a different viral target space across a wide variety of virus genera infecting humans or animals. Each organization who joins the RAR Consortium can freely choose to support one of these eight project modules.

Christian Tidona, Founder & Managing Director of the BioMed X Institute and initiator of the RAR Platform: “SARS-CoV-2 is a serious threat for global public health and the global economy. Current drug discovery, development and mass-manufacturing processes are far too slow to respond to a viral pandemic like COVID-19. To avoid a lockdown of the global economy in the future, we need completely new technologies which are at least ten times faster than the present state-of-the-art. This is what our RAR Platform intends to deliver.”