University of Texas Medical Branch — Nucleic Acid Antiviral Testing

[Human Health and Wellbeing] Open Philanthropy recommended a gift of $200,000 to Professor Kent Tseng of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) to support a test of the utility of a locked nucleic acid (LNA) as an antiviral drug for influenza A virus. Dr. Tseng has access to BSL3-enhanced and BSL4 laboratories, and will test the drug against the highly pathogenic pandemic H5N1 virus in several animal species. R&D done by Jeffrey Glenn's group predicts that the LNA will inhibit the growth of all influenza A viruses, including H5N1 strains. This gift was funded via a request for proposals through the Pandemic Antiviral Discovery Initiative. It falls within our focus area of scientific research, specifically within our interest in advancing human health and wellbeing.