The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest up to $100 million to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), funding research into prevention, therapeutics, and vaccine candidates, the agency said last week.
The program will prioritize novel treatments and improved diagnostics for poultry, along with vaccine development.
The funding, announced by US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, is part of a broader effort to contain the outbreak, which has affected poultry farms, dairy cattle, and farm workers across multiple states.
The initiative will provide funding to for-profit organizations, including vaccine and biologics manufacturers, as well as states, universities, and livestock producer organizations. Priority will be given to projects focused on developing new antiviral treatments, improving diagnostic capabilities, and enhancing biosecurity measures to prevent future outbreaks.
While USDA is exploring the possibility of vaccinating poultry, no vaccine has been authorized yet, and the agency will seek feedback from industry stakeholders before making a decision.
The initiative comes as NanoViricides (NYSE-A:NNVC) advances its antiviral drug NV-387 as a potential treatment for the rapidly spreading virus. NV-387 has shown efficacy against multiple viruses, including influenza, coronaviruses, RSV, and smallpox, and has outperformed leading antivirals like oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in animal studies targeting Influenza A.
NV-387 is designed to remain effective against the H5N1 virus, even as it mutates. Unlike traditional treatments, which target the virus directly and are susceptible to resistance, NV-387 takes a different approach by mimicking a key feature of the host cell that the virus relies on to infect its target.
"Influenza viruses that are resistant to all of the currently available anti-influenza drugs are already known to exist," said Dr Anil Diwan, president and executive chairman of NanoViricides. "Further, such drug resistance can even be transferred to the H5N1 strains via recombination with a drug-resistant strain. Of course, the H5N1 strains can simply mutate to develop resistance."
Dr Diwan emphasized the limitations of traditional vaccines for fast-mutating viruses such as H5N1.
"Vaccines are not the right response for fast-moving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 or H5N1, because vaccine deployment is at least 12 to 15 months behind the virus, when the virus has already moved on," Dr Diwan said.
The company said it hopes the Trump administration will prioritize the rapid development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs like NV-387 in the nation's pandemic response arsenal.