Pandemic prevention

The UK’s University of Oxford is taking the lead on two collaborative international projects to improve the response to new Covid-19 variants and contribute to future pandemic preparedness. Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in the US and the University of Oxford have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool named EVEscape that can predict […]

A new Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC) has been unveiled in the UK, with the aim of building on the UK’s pandemic legacy and helping develop life-saving new vaccines that will fight ‘Disease X‘, a term used because what might trigger the next pandemic is unknown. The centre is situated at the UK Health […]

New research has found a key human gene responsible for blocking most avian flu viruses from spilling over into people. The international study into the pandemic potential of avian flu, which is led by scientists at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR), identified the human gene BTN3A3, which is commonly expressed in […]

The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, and Emory University in Atlanta, US, have committed to scaling up their collaboration to focus on pandemic preparedness and regional disease prevention. UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said the Brisbane-Atlanta partnership will bring together world-class researchers to accelerate the development of vaccines to help deliver commercial and public health […]

Evotec has received a $1.7 million grant from Open Philanthropy, a philanthropic funder prioritising global health and wellbeing. Under the grant, Evotec aims to discover and develop RNA-targeting small molecules as potential first-in-class therapeutics against Henipaviruses. Henipavirus is a genus of zoonotic viruses that can cause fatal encephalitis in humans. The genus comprises six different […]

In the In Conversation With series, a part of the free DDW podcast, DDW speaks with members of the drug discovery industry about their work and how it helps turn science into business. In this latest episode, DDW’s Megan Thomas is in conversation with Kate Kelland, author of Disease X: The 100 Days Mission to End Pandemics, which explores the emergence […]

In the In Conversation With series, a part of the free DDW podcast, DDW speaks with members of the drug discovery industry about their work and how it helps turn science into business.    In this latest episode, DDW’s Megan Thomas is in conversation with Kate Kelland, author of Disease X: The 100 Days Mission to End Pandemics, which explores the emergence […]

The University of Queensland is set to take a second-generation molecular clamp vaccine to a proof-of-concept human trial.  The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) has committed up to AU$8.5 ($5.7) million to support further development of the re-engineered technology for use in the global response to future disease outbreaks.   Associate Professor Keith Chappell, co-leader […]

Three institutions have received a share of $12 million for the development of antiviral therapies to treat diseases caused by viruses with pandemic potential.  The money was awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID may award approximately $61.5 million total over five years […]

The Rockefeller Foundation will provide $3 million in new funding for Global.health (G.h) – an open-source platform for scientific pandemic data.  The investment will allow the platform to expand its international partnerships and modernise the global effort around coordinated pandemic prevention, surveillance, and response. Co-developed by researchers and engineers at the Department of Biology, University […]