Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $882,000 to Georgia Tech to support a collaboration between Professor James Dahlman and Professor Jeffrey Glenn (of Stanford University) to develop and test novel lipid nanoparticles for use in antiviral drug candidates intended to prevent infections by all beta-coronaviruses and influenza strains.
Effective pan-influenza and -coronavirus antiviral drugs could avert hundreds of thousands of deaths annually and minimize the spread of highly infectious and lethal strains of the viruses. Professor Dahlman recently transferred to Emory University, where he will continue the research he began at Georgia Tech.
This falls within Open Philanthropy’s focus area of biosecurity and pandemic preparedness.
The grant amount was updated in January 2024.