On Apr. 7, 2020, the FDA approved an Investigational New Drug application by Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory (DRIVE), LLC, wholly owned by Emory University, for EIDD-2801. The antiviral compound, which can be taken by mouth, is exclusively licensed to Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. The FDA’s approval allowed Ridgeback to initiate human clinical testing in the U.S.

The antiviral is orally available and, in addition to COVID-19, is being developed for the treatment of seasonal and pandemic influenza under a contract awarded to Emory Institute for Drug Development by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and for Venezuelan and Eastern equine encephalitis virus by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.