About UNAPP

The UTMB-Novartis Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness (UNAPP) is one of the nine Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Centers funded by NIH-NIAID to deliver antivirals against pathogens of pandemic concern. Pandemic preparedness is a major scientific and societal priority that requires sustained and forward-looking investments across governmental, non-governmental, academic, and private sectors.

Combining world-leading virology and BSL3/4 capabilities at University of Texas of Medical Branch (UTMB) and state-of-the-art drug discovery technologies at Novartis, UNAPP provides an innovative industry-academia drug discovery platform with the multidisciplinary expertise to deliver high quality antiviral drug candidates and train the next generation of drug hunters.

Priority Research Areas

UNAPP objectives include delivering IND clinical candidates and development candidates ready for IND-enabling studies. We take both target-based and phenotypic-based approaches to identify novel antiviral inhibitors. UNAPP research focuses on small molecules that can be used against coronaviruses, flaviviruses, and henipaviruses. Biologics are out of the scope of the AViDD program.