BARDA announced the first stage of a $100 million prize competition aimed at spurring development of broad‑spectrum small‑molecule antivirals targeting Togaviridae and Flaviviridae families. The agency framed the challenge as a gap‑filling exercise to create therapies ready for emerging and re‑emerging viral threats. The prize mechanism is designed to incentivize smaller biotech teams and academic groups to pursue high‑risk antiviral programs without the upfront cost of large government contracts. BARDA’s move reflects a strategic pivot toward outcome‑based inducements to crowdsource innovation in antiviral chemotypes and to expand the pipeline beyond a narrow set of viral targets. Clarification: BARDA prize competitions allocate public funds contingent on milestone achievement, intending to lower barriers for nascent antiviral programs.