Broader Research Urged As Countries Prepare For Next Pandemic

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have called on researchers and governments to strengthen and accelerate global research to prepare for the next pandemic. They emphasized the importance of expanding research to encompass entire families of pathogens that can infect humans–regardless of their perceived pandemic risk. According to the WHO, the approach proposes using prototype pathogens as guides or pathfinders to develop the knowledge base for entire pathogen families. “History teaches us that the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if. It also teaches us the importance of science and political resolve in blunting its impact,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We need that same combination of science and political resolve to come together as we prepare for the next pandemic. Advancing our knowledge of the many pathogens that surround us is a global project requiring the participation of scientists from every country,” a WHO release quoted him saying. To facilitate this, WHO is engaging research institutions worldwide to establish a Collaborative Open Research Consortium (CORC) for each pathogen family. These CORCs worldwide will involve researchers, developers, funders, regulators, trial experts, and others. They aim to promote greater research...