Scientists and SMEs join forces to fight influenza
Researchers and industrialists from Europe and abroad have clinched EUR
18 million in EU support for their collaboration on projects targeting
influenza. In total, 52 research institutes and small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) from 18 European countries, as well as China, Israel
and the US will work together on 4 projects to determine how influenza
virus genes migrate, and how they pose a serious threat to the
well-being of humans and animals. In less than a decade, the Commission
has earmarked more than EUR 100 million for research on influenza.
'Seasonal flu alone can kill 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide
every year and EU-funded research projects like these can help save
lives,' said Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the EU Commissioner for Research,
Innovation and Science. 'What is more, successful EU research in
preventing and treating flu and other diseases has enormous social and
economic value and can contribute significantly to our Europe 2020
goals.'
The funding granted to two of the four consortia will help them
develop innovative drugs that can fight influenza in humans, while the
other two consortia will investigate influenza in pigs.
The breakdown of the EU funding for each project, as well as the
details of these projects, will be determined when the signing of
contracts takes place in 2010. The call for proposals for new research
projects on influenza was launched last July, and 17 proposals were
submitted.
The two projects set to develop new drugs against influenza are
FLU-PHARM ('New drugs targeting influenza virus polymerase') and FLUCURE
('Development of novel antiviral drugs against influenza'). Over a
42-month period, FLU-PHARM will develop new drug candidates able to
inhibit viral replication in infected cells, specifically by targeting
the PB2 (polymerase basic protein 2) and PA (polymerase acidic) protein
domains.
The drugs developed by FLU-PHARM will help mitigate the threat of
influenza to patients by reducing the risk of developing resistance to
drugs and easing any potential side effects. If their results are
successful, the FLU-PHARM partners will offer new opportunities for
treating seasonal and pandemic flu. This project expects to receive EUR 6
million in financial support. The FLU-PHARM partners are from Belgium,
Germany, Spain, France, Austria, Slovakia and Sweden.
FLUCURE will focus on targeting viral replication machinery,
specifically the PB1 (polymerase basic protein 1)/PA proteins and NP
proteins (nucleoproteins). The partners from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy,
Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland anticipate receiving
EUR 6 million in funding to develop new drug candidates with a reduced
risk of resistance. FLUCURE targets delivery of one or more drug
candidates that can be clinically developed within four years.
The ESNIP 3 ('European surveillance network for influenza in pigs
3') and FLUPIG ('Pathogenesis and transmission of influenza virus in
pigs') projects, with respective funding expected at EUR 1 million and
EUR 5 million, will focus on how influenza affects pigs.
ESNIP 3 will maintain and further develop the surveillance network
for influenza in pigs that was set up within the ESNIP 1 and ESNIP 2
projects, both funded by the EU. The ESNIP 3 partners from Belgium,
China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel,
Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the UK and the US will give
pandemic vigilance a boost and provide evidence needed to help experts
make the right decisions for good veterinary health.
FLUPIG will determine how to best understand the involvement of pigs
in influenza pandemics, a subject needing further clarification since
their exact connection is unclear. Researchers note that there is also a
lack of understanding of the nature of the genetic changes that are
needed for efficient replication of an avian virus in pigs, efficient
transmission of avian viruses between pigs, and virus transmission from
pigs to humans and between humans. Fuelling knowledge about this will
help experts determine methods to better control influenza pandemics in
the future. The FLUPIG partners are from Belgium, China (Hong Kong),
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK and the US.
In a new report, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control (ECDC) stresses that influenza viruses are notorious for their
unpredictability. ECDC experts note that most EU and EFTA (European Free
Trade Association) countries reported that community transmission of
influenza was on the decline by the end of 2009. It should be noted that
countries are reporting continuing low-level transmission. Confirmed
pandemic influenza deaths, while disclosed on national websites for
instance, are also dropping in number.
Source: Community R&D Information Service (CORDIS)