One of the henipaviruses, Nipah virus has been a priority disease in the WHO R&D Blueprint since 2018[1]. Henipaviruses are a subset of the broad class of paramyxoviruses, which contain many highly contagious and deadly viruses including measles, which has an R0 of about 14[2]. The henipaviruses are a newly emerged subclass with >50% fatality (ranging from 33% to 92%) and are of concern for pandemic potential. The virology community is concerned that one or more mutations in the Nipah virus could make it highly contagious. The three-year grant would support the further development by Novartis of two small molecule antiviral leads that act on Nipah and Hendra. The antiviral leads were discovered by Novartis with support from the AViDD consortium[3] located at the University of Texas and Novartis, as part of its efforts to advance a pipeline for malaria and neglected tropical diseases. Novartis has developed leading expertise in structural aspects of Nipah virus[4] and other pathogens with outbreak potential. This grant will support Novartis to advance the leads to the point of phase I testing.
[1] Mehand MS, Al-Shorbaji F, Millett P, Murgue B. The WHO R&D Blueprint: 2018 review of emerging infectious diseases requiring urgent research and development efforts. Antiviral Res 2018;159: 63–67.
[2] Viral R0 is the average number of people infected by each infected individual. The R0 of measles is ~12-18.
[3] In 2022 the US Government funded nine centers with NIH AViDD funding to participate in large scale multidisciplinary research programs targeting viral species that have a high potential to cause a future pandemic.
[4] Nature Communications | (2025) 16:6655