The philanthropic arm of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s empire, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, has reportedly committed to $25 million to a research fund that aims to identify and develop treatments for the Wuhan coronavirus.

The Verge reports that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) has committed $25 million to a research fund designed to identify and develop treatments for the coronavirus. CZI, which is managed by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, is donating to the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator which will help coordinate research efforts to identify new drugs at treatments for the coronavirus.

According to a March 10 press release, the accelerator is backed by $125 million in commitments from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, health foundation Wellcome, and Mastercard’s Impact Fund. CZI says that it will provide $20 million to the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator and make another $5 million available “based on future needs.” The Gate Foundation and Wellcome each have promised up to $50 million and Mastercard’s Impact Fund has committed up to $25 million.

“We’re excited to partner with the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard to help the biomedical research community quickly identify, develop, and test treatments for COVID-19,” said Chan and Zuckerberg in a statement. “The Therapeutics Accelerator will enable researchers to quickly determine whether or not existing drugs have a potential benefit against COVID-19. We hope these coordinated efforts will help stop the spread of COVID-19 as well as provide shared, reusable strategies to respond to future pandemics.”

CZI and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub which researches and develops ways to cure and manage diseases have already begun working to help increase the number of Wuhan coronavirus tests in the San Francisco Bay Area. CZI stated last week that it aims to help the University of California San Francisco support at least 1,000 per day “in the coming days.”

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com