A repurposed breast cancer drug called MDL-001 has shown promise in lab and animal studies against a range of viruses, including flu, covid-19, RSV and norovirus. Developed by California-based Model Medicines using AI, the pill targets a conserved enzyme domain in viruses. A clinical trial is planned for early next year.
Model Medicines, a California company, has repurposed an abandoned breast cancer drug known as ERA-923, now renamed MDL-001, to combat multiple viruses. Co-founder Daniel Haders stated, “As far as we can tell, this is the first drug that’s ever demonstrated activity across all these viral families.” The AI platform identified the drug's potential to bind the Thumb-1 domain of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, a conserved site in viruses that aids replication. Haders explained, “We wanted to find a biological chokepoint – a place where a single drug against a single target could solve dozens of diseases.”
