LIVE BLOG: R&D response to COVID-19 pandemic (Archived)

The OECD has published two new reports on efficient testing strategies and protection of privacy while tracking COVID-19 cases. The first report recommends very wide testing strategies, with greatly increased government testing capacity. The number of asymptomatic cases and high infection rates could lead to a second wave of infections if containment restrictions are lifted without strict quarantine measures in place for people who may be infectious, as well as increased tracing of contacts.

The second report considers how these massive testing, tracking and tracing exercises should nevertheless be in compliance with civil rights and digital privacy. The OECD recommends fully transparency and accountability. Data should not be retained longer than needed.

The European Commission launched the European COVID-19 Data Platform to enable data sharing and analysis, with the aim of accelerating coronavirus research.

Researchers are handling a torrent of information related to coronavirus, with analyses taking place all over the internet. This database is intended as a central repository, with scientists invited to use the site to share DNA sequences, protein structures, data from pre-clinical research and clinical trials and epidemiological data.

The site is supported by the European Bioinformatics Institute of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the Elixir infrastructure and an EU-funded project run by the Technical University of Denmark.

The European Commission has approved a HUF 31.5 billion (€88 million) Hungarian wage subsidies support scheme for research and development companies of all sizes. The scheme is approved under the State aid Temporary Framework set up to support the economy during the coronavirus outbreak. Companies can get financial aid to avoid laying off researchers and developers.

Pfizer has launched a call for proposals, open to healthcare providers around the world that are involved in the recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with COVID-19. The grants will fund education programmes and process improvement projects in which healthcare providers evaluate how well their systems are responding to the crisis and make improvements to the care pathway for COVID-19 patients. Each organisation may receive up to $250,000 per grant. Applicants must be healthcare providers and health systems managing patients with COVID-19. Clinical research is not covered in the call. Application deadline: 22 May.

The European Commission has given the go ahead for a €140 million Portuguese state aid programme in the research and development, testing and production of products such as vaccines, ventilators and personal protective equipment. Invested in the form of direct grants, €50 million of the total investment will be directed towards COVID-19 projects and testing facilities, and €90 million will support the production of vaccines and medical equipment.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative-funded European Health Data & Evidence Network, is calling upon organisations based in member states and Horizon 2020 associated countries to share anonymised COVID-19 patient data. Grants of up to €50,000 are available to support this. The aim of the €1 million project is to standardise information into a federated data network, to accelerate analysis and support evidence-based decision-making. Application deadline: 14 May.

The UK government announced a new £1.25 billion aid package for venture capital-backed tech and life sciences companies that are struggling to stay afloat in the lockdown. The support includes £250 million in loans, which must be matched by equal funding from private investors. Loans will automatically convert into equity stakes at a 20 per cent discount to the valuation at the next funding round, or after three years, if not repaid by then. A further £750 million will be directed towards R&D SMEs through the innovation agency Innovate UK, in the form of grants and loans.

UK Research and Innovation and the National Institute for Health Research have announced a second round of winning COVID-19 projects. Twenty-one new projects will receive a total of £14.1 million in this second wave of awards, as part of a £24.6 million fund. The awards include £1.7 million to Oxford University for the first clinical trial in COVID-19 patients to be conducted in primary care. This will assess if the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine can reduce the need for people to go to hospital, or speed up their recovery. An award of £1.7 million has gone to Robin Shattock, Imperial College London, to fund clinical grade manufacturing, animal testing, and a phase I clinical trial in healthy human volunteers of a mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine.  

Contract manufacturing organisation Halix BV is working with a consortium coordinated by the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, and will provide manufacturing for the large scale production of a COVID-19 vaccine that is being developed by the Jenner. The team there has been working on the vaccine since January and is poised to start the first phase of clinical trials this week, with 510 healthy volunteers already screened to take part. Rather than progressing sequentially, this early trial is taking place at the same time as manufacturing scale up. In addition to Halix, the manufacturing consortium pulled together by the Jenner includes companies in India, China, the US, the UK and Italy.

The Eureka intergovernmental innovation network has announced a call for researchers to create international consortia to strengthen collaboration in COVID-19 research. Projects, to be financed through the national research funding agencies of Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey, must include at least two organisations from two countries. Eureka wants to back research addressing specific needs, in areas including disinfection, diagnostics, therapeutics and digital health. Application deadline: 15 May.