BARDA announced the first stage of a $100 million prize competition to accelerate development of broad‑spectrum small-molecule antivirals targeting Togaviridae and Flaviviridae families. HHS framed the program as a public-private mechanism to close therapeutic gaps for viruses with epidemic potential and to incentivize rapid drug development and scalable manufacturing. The competition structure will award milestone-based prizes and aims to de‑risk early-stage candidates and attract small-molecule programs that could be rapidly advanced into clinical testing and stockpiling. Organizers stressed that prize money is meant to complement, not replace, existing grant and procurement pathways. Biotech teams and investors focused on antivirals should view the prize as a signal of federal prioritization and a potential non-dilutive capital source for programs that can address multiple virus families with a single agent or class. The announcement may accelerate collaborations among medicinal chemists, virologists, and manufacturing partners.