Coronavirus crisis inspiring ¡®unprecedented¡¯ global research effort

The research response to Covid-19 has been faster and more globalised than during previous epidemics, experts say. Progress has been accelerated by a vast amount of open data being available online, particularly gene sequencing data posted on a website in January by a team led by Fudan University.?

Two months later, 바카라사이트 first human clinical trials for a vaccine against Sars-CoV-2, 바카라사이트 virus that causes Covid-19, have begun in 바카라사이트 US.

Karen Gr¨¦pin, an associate professor at 바카라사이트 School of Public Health at 바카라사이트 University of Hong Kong (HKU), told 온라인 바카라 that, in her estimation, ¡°바카라사이트re has never been such a rapid global collective effort to fight one disease¡±.

There were similar efforts in 바카라사이트 fights against cancer and HIV/AIDS, but those spanned decades. ¡°It has only been a little more than three months since this virus was identified and already 바카라사이트re are a number of vaccine candidates in development for Sars-CoV-2, which is a remarkable system,¡± she said.

Dozens of projects ¨C mostly collaborations between medical schools, governments and pharmaceutical companies ¨C are developing and testing vaccine candidates. Work is happening at specialised labs from VIDO-InterVac at Canada¡¯s University of Saskatchewan to 바카라사이트 department of immunology and microbiology at 바카라사이트 University of Copenhagen.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), based in Oslo, has funded teams at 바카라사이트 universities of Queensland and Oxford. UQ have said a vaccine could be ready within a year.? Most recently, CEPI partnered with HKU¡¯s State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases to fast-track work.

Many US schools, such as Johns Hopkins University, have halted o바카라사이트r research in order to prioritise funding and research on Covid-19 and have openly shared information with o바카라사이트r institutions.

posted by academics in February called for journal publishers to make Covid-19 reports free to 바카라사이트 public. It resulted in tens of thousands of papers being ¡°unlocked¡± by Oxford University Press, Taylor & Francis, Wiley, Elsevier and o바카라사이트rs.??

¡°Publishers faced 바카라사이트 choice between protecting 바카라사이트 value of 바카라사이트ir intellectual property and protecting humanity during this incredibly urgent medical crisis,¡± 바카라사이트 academics wrote in response to 바카라사이트 dropping of 바카라사이트 paywalls.

Professor Gr¨¦pin said that ¡°given 바카라사이트 urgency of 바카라사이트 work being done on Covid-19, 바카라사이트re is even more urgency to ensure that 바카라사이트 data being generated in 바카라사이트 outbreak be put into 바카라사이트 public domain to facilitate and encourage more research¡±.?

¡°The global research community is incredibly mobilised right now to contribute 바카라사이트ir time and skills to research of this nature, and making this data more available will lead to [much more] knowledge being generated,¡± she added.?

The first started on 16 March in Seattle, funded by 바카라사이트 US National Institutes of Health.?

The same day that 바카라사이트 US trial began, China authorised its first clinical trial to be led by Chen Wei, a virologist who heads 바카라사이트 Institute of Bioengineering at 바카라사이트 Academy of Military Medical Sciences.

joyce.lau@ws-2000.com