Rapid Viral Pandemic Suppression With Molecular Affinity Development

This SBIR Phase I project will develop a platform and protocol to rapidly identify and prepare materials and methods for the suppression of a viral pandemic after the virus has been identified and sequenced. The project will focus on the currently ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the platform can apply to future viral pandemics. With this platform, pandemics can be suppressed with at least two of the four venues: diagnostics, surveillance, vaccines, and therapeutics. The platform intends to use a combination of tools from the fields of bioinformatics and molecular biology to identify and prepare target molecules with high affinity binding potential. The prepared molecules can then be used in disease diagnosis, surveillance, vaccine formulation, and/or therapeutics discovery. With such applications implemented, the platform can significantly enhance the response time and effectiveness of pandemic suppression measures. As a result, people and military personnel will maintain health and operational readiness and avoid loss of life, suffering, and economic hardship.