Drug Discovery at Emory
For decades, Emory University has been at the forefront of discovering treatments for diseases of global concern. In the 1990s, it was HIV. Then, cancer and hemophilia. Today, it's COVID-19. What remains constant is the commitment of our researchers to improve the health and lives of all.
A Brief History of Drug InnovationDecember 23, 2021
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that molnupiravir, an investigational oral antiviral drug invented by scientists at Emory University, has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for treatment of COVID-19.
The EUA authorizes the use of molnupiravir for “the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in adults with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death, and for whom alternative COVID-19 treatment options authorized by the FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate.”
The Little Pill That Could
Molnupiravir, a promising weapon against COVID-19, was being developed years before the world faced the onslaught of a virus that has killed more than 5 million people in fewer than 24 months. Researcher George Painter looms large in the creation of molnupiravir and the history of drug discovery at Emory.
![george painter poses outside with blurred green leaves behind him](_includes/images/sections/painter700x700.jpg)
Failure Is Frequent. Success Is Sweet.
Many Emory researchers have spent the better part of their lives dedicated to discovering and developing drug treatments for some of today’s most challenging diseases—and those yet to emerge. What are the moments scientists “live for,” and what spurs them despite setbacks and failures? How do they recover from failure and what role did they play in Emory's path to becoming a drug discovery powerhouse?
Drug Discovery at Emory: Tackling Confounding Diseases and Conditions
Gregory L. Fenves, President, Emory University
Jonathan S. Lewin, EVP for Health Affairs, Emory University
Deborah W. Bruner, SVP, Research, Emory University
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