Pandemic Preparedness
Accelerating research and advocating for equitable innovation and access to life-saving health tools
Pandemic Preparedness
Accelerating research and advocating for equitable innovation and access to life-saving health tools
We are combining our not-for-profit drug discovery and development experience and our collaborative, open-science model to help prepare for future pandemics.
COVID-19 threw longstanding global health injustices into stark relief. Wealthy countries had access to advanced vaccines and treatments as soon as they were approved. In lower-income countries, hospitals and communities were left grasping for the most basic supplies.
DNDi is using lessons from our partnerships in not-for-profit R&D for the most neglected to help make sure this doesn’t happen again. We are conducting research for new drugs before the next pandemic strikes and speaking out for action to put equity at the heart of the response to future health emergencies.
What we are doing for pandemic preparedness
In the complex field of drug discovery for diseases of pandemic potential, our teams and partners are united by a common goal: placing on humanity’s shelf a collection of potential broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that will be ready for clinical evaluation and scale-up manufacturing to confront new pandemics, and which could be developed quickly into affordable, globally accessible treatments.
We are also advocating for the policies and commitments needed to ensure all people have access to the life-saving medical tools they need. In policy fora and international decision-making bodies such as the World Health Assembly, we speak out for change that we know from our own experience can help shift the status quo.
What we have achieved
We engaged in collaborative drug discovery partnerships to develop affordable, effective new COVID-19 treatments. One of these open science partnerships led to the discovery and the development of a promising broad-spectrum antiviral with potent activity against coronaviruses.
Open-science search for an affordable, globally accessible COVID-19 antiviral. 150 scientists partnered to identify new molecules that could block SARS-CoV-2 infection. A preclinical candidate built on the scaffold they discovered and optimized is now being further developed by researchers from the AViDD ASAP consortium.
Preparing clinical infrastructure for the next pandemic. Along with partners, DNDi co-founded PANTHER to prepare and respond rapidly to pandemics on the African continent by providing the human, technical, scientific, and administrative infrastructure through a network of experienced African research centres.
A network for research in low- and middle-income countries. In 2020, DNDi co-launched CERCLE, a coalition of 900 researchers & research institutions aiming to accelerate research on infectious diseases of pandemic potential by ensuring the participation – and meeting the specific needs of low-resource settings.
A multi-country trials focusing on mild and moderate cases of COVID-19. Conducted across 29 clinical trial sites in 13 African countries and Brazil by 27 medical research organizations, the ANTICOV study tested treatments that could reduce the risk of hospitalization.
Pandemic preparedness news & resources
Stay connected
Get our latest news, personal stories, research articles, and job opportunities.
