February 2023

As we make progress on our priorities, let’s strengthen coordination

As we begin 2023, I would like to wish an excellent year to each of our members and much success for our endeavors together. Looking at our funders’ alliance today, I see clear signs that we are making progress on many of GloPID-R’s key priorities.

As most of you know, the GloPID-R Secretariat is in the midst of a period of transition and growth. With the renewed support of the European Commission through to the end of 2025, the transfer to the Charité Center for Global Health (Universitätsmedizin Berlin) is in full swing. At the same time, GloPID-R’s Research & Policy Team based at the University of Oxford’s Pandemic Sciences Institute is expanding to drive the development of Pandemic PACT and to continue providing scientific and policy support for our members and activities.

The year ahead will be an important one for the roll-out of GloPID-R’s regional hub strategy. As a Senior Director at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), I am proud to be working with my team alongside the GloPID-R Secretariat to establish the African Regional Hub. To fund the first 12 months of this new hub, GloPID-R received an EDCTP (European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership) grant funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care. In September 2022, we were delighted to host members of the GloPID-R Research & Policy Team and Central Secretariat who travelled to Cape Town for a successful initial meeting. Today we are taking steps to translate our strategy into action. A regional advisory group of GloPID-R members on the African continent is being established, and we are planning the official kick-off meeting for August 2023.

A new host and new contact details for the GloPID-R Secretariat

The move to the Charité Center for Global Health in Berlin puts the GloPID-R Secretariat at the heart of a strategic coordination, communications and services hub for global health-related affairs.

Update on the “Pandemic preparedness: analytical capacity and funding tracking programme”

Funders, researchers and policy makers are looking forward to using an agile and powerful new research tracker tool to be developed by the GloPID-R Research and Policy team within the scope of a GloPID-R/UKCDR collaboration by the name of “Pandemic Preparedness: Analytical Capacity and Funding Tracking programme”…

COVID CIRCLE: celebrating 2 years of achievements

On January 19, 2023, an online event was organized by UKCDR and GloPID-R to review the lessons learnt and achievements of COVID CIRCLE (COVID-19 Research Coordination and Learning Initiative).

An update from the Clinical Trial Networks and Funders (CTN&F) working group

Consultation on the Funders’ Living Roadmap for Clinical Trial Coordination, developed by our Clinical Trial Networks & Funders Working Group, is now complete and we are looking forward to its launch.

Conference in South Korea launches the GloPID-R Asia Pacific Regional Hub

On November 9-10, 2022, the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology (NRF/KRIBB) held a cornerstone conference, under the leadership of Dr. Choong-Min Ryu and his team, for the future GloPID-R Asia Pacific Hub. More than 40 participants attended in person, with many more taking part remotely.

ANRS | Emerging Infectious DiseasesStrategic Projects

ANRS | EID update us on their strategic projects and international network.

CEPIUpdates from CEPI

News from CEPI on projects including the 100 days mission, partnerships, vaccine technology and women in science.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE)

Updates from CIHR on their global partnerships and collaborative work.

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and DLR-PTGerman Center for Infection Research (DZIF) honours Prof. Gérard Krause

GloPID-R’s member in Germany reports on a prize for Translational Infection Research.

European CommissionThe European Commission progresses cooperation for the development and availability of key therapeutics for pandemic preparedness

On November 22-23, 2022, the Directorate-General for Research and Development (RTD) and the Health Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) organised a multidisciplinary workshop on the development and availability of broad-spectrum antivirals for better pandemic preparedness.

ESSENCE on Health ResearchThe promise and perils of future health technology

Listen to the latest episode in the Global Health Matters podcast series.

ISIDOReOpen Call for Proposals: Free Access to ISIDORe facilities

To prevent future pandemics, and advance the development of the appropriate medical countermeasures, the ISIDORe preparedness programme includes a list of priority preparedness pathogens clustered in four calls for proposals to support research on the epidemic-prone pathogens.

ANRS | Emerging Infectious DiseasesCall for projects

The first call for projects of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Priority Research Program and Equipment (PEPR-MIE) is open from February 7 to April 24, 2023 (11:59 p.m.). This call for projects aims to fund basic research, R&D, public health and human and social sciences projects.

ANRS-EID Scientific Days

The ANRS-EID 2023 Scientific Days will be held on March 21 and 22.

World Health Assembly

The seventy-sixth World Health Assembly will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from May 21 -30, 2023.

Epidemics9

The 9th International Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamics will be held from November 28 – December 1, 2023 in Bologna, Italy.

Open Research Europe publishes protocol for scoping review on research prioritisation by GloPID-R Research & Policy team

Published in Open Research Europe, “Scoping review protocol on research prioritisation for preparedness and response to outbreaks of high-consequence pathogens” outlines the methodology for an ongoing GloPID-R study, bringing greater attention to research prioritisation.

GloPID-R scientists’ overview of ongoing research into the Sudan virus disease outbreak in Uganda

The data in this brief published in BMJ Global Health by the GloPID-R Research & Policy team underlines the urgent need for investment in vaccine and treatment strategy development.

Standard of care for viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs): a systematic review of clinical management guidelines for high-priority VHFs

This article, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and authored by Louise Sigfrid, GloPID-R Clinical Research Specialist, along with a team of scientists presents data from a systematic review of availability, inclusivity and scope of clinical management guidelines for viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHF). It highlights the limited and at times contradictory guidance available on supportive care and treatments for most VHFs, including Marburg disease, which is the cause of an outbreak currently in Equatorial Guinea.

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