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new compounds that will attack those weak spots. With adequate funding, different groups could take the most promising new compounds through Phase 1 studies even before there's an epidemic, or at least have several leads that can be turned into a product quickly once we know what the target looks like. In short, although therapeutics didn't rescue us from COVID in 2020, they hold a lot of promise for saving lives and preventing future outbreaks from crippling health systems. But to make the most of that promise, the world ought to invest in the research and systems we'll need to find treatments much faster, and to deliver them to people who need them, wherever they are. If we do, we'll save millions of lives and minimize the disruption the next time the world faces an outbreak.