Pandemic was call to action for Carolina virologists

“The COVID-19 pandemic was a call to action for us,” says Dr. Nat Moorman, co-founder of the Rapidly Emerging Antiviral Drug Development Initiative (READDI). “[My fellow virologists and I] were well aware that we were not going to have the therapeutics we needed.”

A sense of helplessness and untapped expertise led Moorman, associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine’s microbiology and immunology department, and two Carolina colleagues to launch READDI to make broad-spectrum, small molecule antiviral drugs in advance of the next pandemic. Eshelman Innovation played an outsized role in helping turn READDI from idea into reality.  

“We’re looking to prevent another disaster like we saw with COVID-19, and the way to do that is for READDI to be successful and make sure the drugs are already there, tested and ready for use” during the next potentially catastrophic viral outbreak, Moorman tells Eshelman Innovation Executive Director John Bamforth during the latest installment of the video series “North Carolina Innovators You Should Know.” 

Moorman is one of countless innovators across the state. North Carolina, home to world-class universities, receives nearly $13 billion each year in academic and industry research and development funding, putting it second among the states in R&D. Yet according to the North Carolina Innovation Index, the state falls behind in commercializing its R&D.

Eshelman Innovation, celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2024, is helping change that by translating great ideas into healthcare products and services.

Through its video series, Eshelman Innovation introduces viewers to Carolina innovators, like Moorman, and those at other institutions and companies.

“A rich ecosystem of innovation exists in North Carolina,” Bamforth says. “This video series shines a light on trailblazers across the state.”

During the latest episode, Moorman discusses the challenges of building a startup to make pandemic antivirals, even during a full-blown pandemic. The difficulties were offset, however, by the benefits of starting the journey at UNC-Chapel Hill, with its deep expertise in virology and medicinal chemistry and its access to the Research Triangle research community.  

READDI has become a leading voice in the international pandemic preparedness effort. Moorman and his team are working with global collaborators to maximize resources, prevent the duplication of efforts and make progress toward discovering and developing antiviral drugs.

“That’s all in the spirit of the big picture goal,” Moorman says, “which is when that next virus emerges, we can literally reach on a shelf, grab the antiviral therapeutic we need and deploy it.”  

Want to learn about other NC innovators? Catch up on previous episodes of “North Carolina Innovators You Should Know” with Eshelman School of Pharmacy cancer researcher Andrew Satterlee, serial entrepreneur and Carolina MD-PhD candidate in neurosurgery Nehemiah Stewart and Eshelman Innovation Research Assistant Professor Brianna Vickerman, who is doing groundbreaking work in light-activated therapeutics.  

Thank you to the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media for filming this interview at the Curtis Media Center.