PANVIRIDE Project, Italian antiviral research teams up

Press release

SASSARI. After a year of work, the PANVIRIDE research project, dedicated to the development of new broad-spectrum antiviral drugs, has achieved concrete and promising results. The interim meeting hosted at the University of Perugia took stock of the situation, where the researchers involved illustrated the most significant developments and discussed the next steps.

Coordinated by Prof. Marco Radi of the University of Parma, PANVIRIDE is funded with 2 million euros under the PNRR funds – Mission 4, Component 2 “From research to business”, through a cascade call by the INF-ACT Foundation. The project aims to create effective drugs against emerging and re-emerging viruses, in line with the One Health paradigm, which integrates human, animal and environmental health.

Alongside Parma, the consortium also includes the universities of Perugia (Professor Oriana Tabarrini), Pisa (Professor Simone Brogi), Sassari (Professor Antonio Carta), Salerno (Professor Gianluca Sbardella), and Catanzaro (Professor Stefano Alcaro). The industrial contribution of ViroStatics SRL, an Italian-American biotech led by Dr. Franco Lori, completes the picture.

During the conference, it emerged that the project has already led to the development of four preclinical candidates with broad-spectrum antiviral activity, in addition to the identification of numerous molecules active against respiratory and vector-borne viruses, some of which with innovative mechanisms of action. Therapeutic combinations capable of synergistically enhancing the efficacy of individual candidates have also been identified.

Particularly significant was the presence of young researchers, PhD students and post-docs recruited thanks to the project, who presented the results with competence and innovative spirit. An element that confirms the educational value of the initiative.

«In addition to representing a fundamental resource to limit the spread of new emerging viruses, the broad-spectrum antivirals on which we are working offer a concrete opportunity to treat infections that still lack therapeutic solutions – explained Marco Radi –. PANVIRIDE was created precisely to fill this gap, and the results obtained so far confirm that we are proceeding in the right direction.»

The project will continue in the coming months with the optimization and preclinical validation of the most promising candidates, in the full spirit of the One Health strategy promoted by the INF-ACT Foundation, contributing to the scientific and technological preparation of the country against future viral threats.