At IDWeek 2025, Model Medicines’ MDL-001 emerged as one of the conference’s most discussed preclinical antiviral stories. Presented by Virgil Woods, Ph.D., the program was described as an orally available, direct-acting, broad-spectrum antiviral developed through Model Medicines’ proprietary AI platform and designed to target the conserved Thumb-1 domain in viral polymerases.

Medpace framed MDL-001 as part of a broader shift in antiviral development: moving beyond the traditional single-virus, single-protein model toward AI-enabled programs that identify conserved, druggable, and potentially mutation-resistant viral targets across unrelated virus families. The recap described the candidate as a potential “next Tamiflu, but for everything,” highlighting its relevance not only as a therapeutic program, but also as a potential biodefense and pandemic-preparedness asset.

The presentation underscored MDL-001’s reported activity across respiratory and hepatic viruses, including flu, RSV-like viruses, coronaviruses, HCV, HBV, and HDV. It also highlighted the role of academic and biotech collaborations, including UC San Diego, Scripps Research, and Mount Sinai, in validating a novel cross-family antiviral mechanism.