On Mar. 4, 2020, Vir Biotech and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announced an expansion of their existing collaboration to include the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics targeting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19.

Under the agreement, the companies will utilize Alnylamﾒs recent advances in lung delivery of novel conjugates of siRNA together with Virﾒs infectious disease expertise and established capabilities, to bring forward one or more siRNAs to treat SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other coronaviruses as well.