On May 19, 2025, AVITHRAPID held the second event in its official seminar series, strengthening ties with a key Horizon Europe sibling initiative: the NAVIPP Consortium (New Antivirals Against Infections with Pandemic Potential). This encounter reflects a shared vision—to accelerate the discovery and development of broad-spectrum antiviral solutions to better prepare Europe for future epidemic and pandemic threats. Over 35 participants from all around Europe have taken part in the online event.
Strengthening Synergies Between Leading EU Consortia
AVITHRAPID and NAVIP both operate under the same Horizon Europe framework and are united in their mission to boost Europe’s capabilities to detect, test, and advance new antiviral candidates. The seminar created space for each consortium to share updates on scientific progress, showcase technological strengths, and reflect on future possibilities for collaboration.
The session featured insightful presentations from both consortia, emphasizing their complementary approaches and scientific strategies. Following these, a dynamic discussion explored shared priorities such as:
- Broad-spectrum antiviral testing across virus families;
- Effective use of high-containment facilities (BSL3/4) for advanced research;
- Innovative drug delivery and formulation systems;
- Preclinical and clinical trial readiness;
- Cross-consortium advocacy to ensure support for the full antiviral development pipeline, from discovery to deployment.
NAVIPP: A Consortium with Deep Containment Expertise
The NAVIPP consortium, coordinated by ERINHA, benefits from an extensive network of high-biosafety laboratories across Europe and includes public research institutions, academic centers, and private sector innovators. Their work focuses on prioritized viral families, including flaviviruses and filoviruses, with promising results already emerging from their high-throughput screening efforts. These are now moving forward into validation using sophisticated in vitro and ex vivo models.
AVITHRAPID: Building a Rapid-Response Antiviral Pipeline
AVITHRAPID, coordinated by Fraunhofer with contributions from 18 partners across eight countries, is assembling an integrated antiviral R&D pipeline. Its research activities span from hit identification and lead optimization to formulation, delivery, and clinical readiness—underpinned by in silico tools such as the Exscalate platform and reinforced by BSL3/4 laboratory capacity.
The consortium is currently progressing a diverse portfolio of compounds, including:
- Inhibitors targeting viral proteases, helicases, and macrodomains;
- Peptide-drug conjugates with demonstrated in vivo efficacy;
- Host-directed therapies;
- A clinical program for neglected diseases
A Positive Outlook for Future Collaboration
The seminar confirmed a strong alignment between NAVIP and AVITHRAPID—not only in scientific focus but also in commitment to open collaboration. Both consortia expressed interest in:
- Exploring complementary testing strategies;
- Identifying opportunities for shared validation models;
- Coordinating joint outreach activities towards European institutions such as HERA;
- Laying the groundwork for future joint funding proposals.
Conclusion: A Shared Commitment to Europe’s Health Security
By bringing together complementary strengths, this seminar marked a step forward in building a collaborative, agile, and innovation-driven antiviral research ecosystem in Europe. Through regular dialogue and aligned scientific strategies, projects like AVITHRAPID and NAVIP are showing how Europe can lead the way in preparing for the infectious disease challenges of tomorrow.
Stay connected as AVITHRAPID continues to build bridges and deliver results across the European research landscape.