The ASAP Discovery Consortium
LightNews LightNews
banner
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
The ASAP Discovery Consortium
@asapdiscovery.bsky.social
280 followers 12 following 35 posts
ASAP uses artificial intelligence and computational chemistry to accelerate structure-based open science antiviral drug discovery and deliver oral antivirals for pandemics with the goal of global, equitable, and affordable access.
Posts Replies Media Videos
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
ASAP is incredibly proud to work with superstar antiviral discovery scientists at Mount Sinai: Briana McGovern, Meg Gordon, Dr. Kris White, Dr. Suazo, and Jared Benjamin, among others!

Read about their important work here:
health.mountsinai.org/blog/stories...
Members of Dr. White’s lab, from left to right, wearing white lab coats: Briana McGovern, BS, Senior Research Associate; Meg Gordon, BA, Research Associate; Dr. White; Dr. Suazo; Jared Benjamin, MS, Research Associate.
September 10, 2025 at 7:22 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
Next up in today's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum is Peter Sjö (@dndi.org) and Annette von Delft (@cmd.ox.ac.uk) of ASAP talking about DNDi-6510, the preclinical candidate from the COVID Moonshot!

asapdiscovery.org/forum
Peter Sjö giving an overview of the COVID Moonshot progression of antivirals from the COVID Moonshot Science paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo7201
June 18, 2025 at 3:36 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
First up in today's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum is Jeroen Kruter and Ingrid de Visser-Kamerling of INFECTA: infecta.org

asapdiscovery.org/forum/
Jeroen Kruter presenting a slide about INFECTA: INFECTA: Dedicated facility To accelerate pharmaceutical development for infectious diseases through innovative research methodologies, strategic collaborations, with a commitment to improving global health outcomes. Realization of early phase clinical research infection unit: - INFECTA-NL servers as supervisory board for INFECTA - Private Limited Company is overseen by directors Ingrid de Visser and Meta Rostenberg - Non-profit purpose Purpose build: - 20 isolation beds (BSL3) - Outpatient clinic - Lab facilities including BSL3/GMP manufacturing Strong legacy from Centre for Human Drug Research and Leiden Medical Center
June 18, 2025 at 3:11 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
Next up in today's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum is Juan C. de la Torre of CAMPP @scripps.edu talking about antiviral discovery for mammarenaviruses.

asapdiscovery.org/forum
Slide presented by Juan C. de la Torre: Impact of mammarenaviruses on human health: * Lassa virus (LASV): The underrated human pathogen of West Africa * South American hemorrhagic fever mammarenaviruses * The globally distributed prototypic mammarenaviruses LCMV as a neglected human pathogen * Recently discovered mammarenaviruses of unknown pathogenic potential for humans
May 21, 2025 at 3:34 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
First up in today's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum is Warren Thompson ASAP @diamondlightsource.bsky.social showing automated fragment progression capabilities that Diamond Light Source users will soon be able to access!

asapdiscovery.org/forum/
www.diamond.ac.uk/Instruments/...
Warren Thompson presenting a slide showing the Diamond Light Source XChem facility capabilities for accelerated Design-Make-Test-Analyze cycles, including collaborative data dissemination, cloud-based digitised chemistry, high throughput automated beamline, and the creation of AI-data sources for predicting ligand binding for drug discovery.
May 21, 2025 at 3:10 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
Lead medicinal chemist Ed Griffen (@griffen-ed.bsky.social) will be disclosing the new ASAP MERS-CoV/SARS-CoV-2 oral antiviral at @acs.org on Tue 25 Mar! Tune in to this virtual session to hear about its discovery and development!

acs.digitellinc.com/live/34/sess...
ACS talk 4181593 - Discovery of non-peptidomimetic oral combined MERS and SARS-CoV-2 anti-virals Presented by Ed Griffen Part of the session "Developing Countermeasures for Viruses of Pandemic Potential" Room: Digital Session (Digital Meeting) Overview: The COVID-19 pandemic was a stark reminder that a barren global antiviral pipeline has grave humanitarian consequences. Pandemics could be prevented, in principle, by accessible, easily deployable broad-spectrum oral antivirals. Here we report the discovery of a family non-peptidomimetic spirolactams that target critical pathogenic coronaviridae including SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV. As part of the ASAP AViDD centre(www.asapdiscovery.org) we expanded the work of the COVID Moonshot's drug discovery campaign targeting the SARS-CoV-2 main protease to deliver orally active compounds with promising in vivo profiles. Using a combination of active learning based medicinal chemistry, alchemical free energy calculations and structure-based design we were able to extend the coronavirus spectrum and optimise the ADMET properties of the series leading to the first public disclosure of the preclinical candidate.
March 21, 2025 at 4:55 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
Next up for our Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum Jingyue Ju (Columbia University) of the Metropolitan AntiViral Drug Accelerator (MAVDA), discussing inhibitors of RNA synthesis for coronaviruses and other viruses of pandemic potential.

Check out his talk here:
openantivirals.org
Jinyue Ju presenting his titles slide: Discovery and Optimization of RNA Synthesis Inhibitors for Coronavirus and other Viruses of Pandemic Potential Jingyue Ju Departments of Chemical Engineering & Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics Center for Genome Technology & Biomolecular Engineering Columbia University
February 19, 2025 at 4:34 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
Tem Morrison (University of Colorado School of Medicine) is up next in this month's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum, discussing the debilitating effects of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and the high need for antivirals.

Tune in now, or watch his presentation later:
openantivirals.org
Tem Morrison presents a slide illustrating debilitating effects of Chikungunya infection: * Clinical disease---it's all in the name chikungunya: "that which bends up" o'nyong-nyong: "painful weakening of the joints" * Three clinical stages (CHIKV) Acute (1-3 weeks) * Sudden fever, arthralgia, arthritis, rash * Wrists, angles, phalanges (commonly up to 16 joints) * Atypical presentations occur but are rare (0.5%) Post-acute (3 weeks - 3 months) * Persistent joint pain, arthritis, tenosynovitis * >50% of patients Chronic (>3 months) * Similar to post-acute stage * 10-50% of patients; recent meta-analysis of 60 studies across 38 countries estimates 51% On the right is an illustration of which joints are affected by acute and chronic chikungunya infections, as well as photos of hands with severely inflamed, bent joints.
February 19, 2025 at 4:22 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
This month's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum kicks off with Margaret Kielian (@einsteinmededu.bsky.social), part of the Antiviral Countermeasures Development Center (AC/DC AViDD), focusing on developing antivirals to alphaviruses!

Join now, or watch later:
openantivirals.org
Margaret Kielan presents her first slide: Antiviral Countermeasures Development Center (AC/DC) Project 2: Development of Antivirals against Alphaviruses Three-part interactive team, groups of: Margaret Kielian, Albert Einste College of Medicine, NY Andres Merits, University of Tartu, Estonia Tem MOrrison, University of Colorado School of Medicine, CO
February 19, 2025 at 4:08 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
Next up at the Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum is Charles Craik (UCSF QCRG AViDD Center) talking about the discovery of broad-spectrum coronavirus Mpro inhibitors!

openantivirals.org
Charles Craik presenting his title slide, "Structure-based discovery of highly bioavailable, covalent, broad-specftrum coronavirus-Mpro inhibitors with potent in vivo efficacy"
January 15, 2025 at 4:34 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
First up in today's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum is Sara Cherry, who works with both CAMPP and READDI-AC AViDD Centers to discover antivirals for emerging RNA viruses!

openantivirals.org
Sara Cherry introduces her title slide, "Antiviral Discovery Pipeline: Emerging and Re-Emerging Viruses"
January 15, 2025 at 4:05 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
Next up in today's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum is Mei Hong (MIT) of the QCRG AViDD Center, talking about solid state NMR of the SARS-CoV-2 E protein:
asapdiscovery.org/forum/#sched...
Mei Hong narrates her slide, "E: A drug-targeted cation channel of SARS-CoV-2". The slide shows the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and highlights the role of E (envelope) protein.
December 18, 2024 at 4:27 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
First up in today's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum is Peter Brown of UNC Chapel Hill and READDI-AC talking about the discovery of covalent chemical probes for CHIKV nsP2 protease:
asapdiscovery.org/forum/#sched...
Peter Brown narrates his slide, "Alphavirus (CHIKV) replication complex", which shows the structure of the nsP2 protease and neighboring proteins along with substrate cleavage preferences.
December 18, 2024 at 4:06 PM
asapdiscovery.bsky.social
ASAP lead medicinal chemist Ed Griffen (@griffen-ed.bsky.social) is talking about ASAP's IP strategy to enable global equitable and affordable access in today's Antiviral Drug Discovery Open Science Forum:
asapdiscovery.org/forum
Ed Griffen (ASAP lead medicinal chemist) presents a slide entitled "Better Pandemic Preparedness needs licenses and therefore pantents". The slides show a logical flow: Box 1: global equitable access holds viral threats early -- "outbreaks not pandemics" This requires Box 2: Licensing to avoid defensive positions in HICs, which aims to be maximally permissive. This requires Box 3: Patents to make licenses enforceable, which is the minimally viable defensive patent.
November 20, 2024 at 4:17 PM