Payment services firm Mastercard committed $25m to Covid-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, a US-based drug development accelerator that launched with $125m in seed funding last week.
Philanthropic organisation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and life science research charity Wellcome Trust have each contributed $50m to the scheme.
Covid-19 Therapeutics Accelerator will evaluate existing drugs and look to develop new medicines to tackle the infectious disease. It has escalated from a regional outbreak in China to a global pandemic killing thousands and caused the sharpest stock market crash since 1987.
There are no antiviral treatments or immunotherapies currently available for the disease. While several companies are working on vaccines, the necessity for clinical trials means any vaccine will be least another year away from commercial release.
The accelerator will make any resulting products widely available and affordable to countries with little resources. It will focus on the entire drug development process, from initial pipeline through manufacturing to the scale-up stage.
The initiative will collaborate with the World Health Organisation as well as governments and private industry, while committing to share research, pool resources and coordinate investments in an effort to speed up drug development.
Mike Froman, vice-chairman of Mastercard, said: “We are proud to join this crucial effort to combat Covid-19 in furtherance of our commitment to inclusive growth.
“This global challenge not only represents a risk to the health and safety of populations all over the world, but also poses a potential disruption to the economic vitality of millions of people, businesses and organisations worldwide.
“Our experience with financial inclusion shows us the importance of building a network of parties who bring not only their capital, but complementary assets and skill sets to the table, and we welcome other partners concerned about inclusive growth to join this effort.”
