On May 4, 2020, Vir Biotech and Alnylam Pharma announced the selection of a development candidate for VIR-2703, an investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting the SARS-CoV-2 genome.

The companies planned to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory authorities to discuss a potential accelerated path for filing an Investigational New Drug or IND equivalent application at or around year-end 2020, less than a year since program initiation.

The companies goal was to advance VIR-2703 as an inhalational formulation for the potential treatment and/or prevention of COVID-19.