GloPID-R and CORC Cooperate to Strengthen Pandemic Preparedness and Response

The Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have agreed to cooperate through WHO’s Collaborative Open Research Consortium (CORC) initiative to enhance global efforts in pandemic preparedness and response.

At the GloPID-R General Assembly held at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 3–4, an open session highlighted CORC’s mission and global activities. Recognizing the alignment between CORC’s goals and GloPID-R’s focus on pandemic preparedness and rapid response, GloPID-R members agreed to initiate ongoing dialogue with CORCs. This mutual decision to cooperate aims to leverage the strengths and expertise of both organizations for maximum impact.

“During the open session of the GloPID-R General Assembly, GloPID-R members welcomed the opportunity to learn about the newly established WHO-led CORC and its innovative framework for strengthening global pandemic preparedness,” said Dr Elizabeth Higgs, Board Member and Chair of the 2024 GloPID-R General Assembly meeting. “We also identified key areas of potential synergy to enhance our shared goal of improved preparedness and response. CORCs’ coordinated research approach, focused on pathogen families, is an exciting opportunity to efficiently align global scientific efforts and enable rapid responses to unforeseen variants, zoonotic spillovers, and emerging pathogens, including ‘Pathogen X.’ GloPID-R looks forward to continued dialogue with this vital initiative.”

“CORCs research on pathogens of epidemic potential aligns well with the objectives of GloPID-R Regional Hubs and Clinical Trials Network. Cooperation between GloPID-R and CORCs will enable a greater research complementarity at regional and global level,” added GloPID-R Board Member Dr Jean Marie Vianney Habarugira.

As a global coalition of research funders and stakeholders, GloPID-R accelerates research responses to infectious disease threats by fostering cooperative and coordinated approaches to addressing public health emergencies. The network’s scope provides a strong foundation for meaningful engagement with CORCs.

“WHO welcomes the endorsement of GloPID-R, which is a valued partner in science and research funding,” said Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme and WHO Deputy Director-General. “Global research efforts must be collaborative and inclusive. Advancing our knowledge of the many pathogen families that surround us requires the participation of scientists from every country.”

“By expanding global collaborative research efforts for selected high risk viral and bacterial families, through the CORCs, useful scientific knowledge will be generated all across the world in a decentralized, equitable and collaborative way,” said Nivedita Gupta, who is from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and is also the Paramyxovirus CORC lead. “By developing global R&D roadmaps for each family using an open and transparent approach, we will be better equipped to handle future pandemics by triggering the innovation landscape across the world.”

Since its launch earlier this year, WHO has established ten research consortia, each focusing on a specific pathogen family. These consortia are supported by WHO Collaborating Centres serving as research hubs. This structure ensures equitable participation from countries where these pathogens are most prevalent, facilitating scientific progress and collaboration globally.

The initial focus of the CORCs includes creating comprehensive research roadmaps and target product profiles while fostering sustained cooperation among researchers, developers, funders, regulators, and trial experts. The consortias’ hubs are distributed across all six WHO regions and target various viral families, such as Arenavirus, Filovirus, Flavivirus, and others, as well as a key bacterial group.