Abbott (NYSE:ABT) announced today that it formed the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition for future pandemic threats.
The first-of-its-kind global scientific and public health partnership is dedicated to the early detection of and rapid response to future pandemic threats through the connection of global centers of excellence in laboratory testing, genetic sequencing and public health research, according to a news release.
Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott’s coalition will identify new pathogens, analyze potential risk levels, rapidly develop and deploy new diagnostic testing and assess public health impact in realtime as the COVID-19 pandemic reaches the one-year mark.
Included in the coalition’s efforts will be a public database for publishing sequences of viruses so health officials and laboratories can work together to identify if it’s a novel strain or a virus that has previously been detected.
The process to identify potential new viral threats will begin with physicians across the network identifying unknown conditions that can’t be treated or diagnosed. After that, patient samples are tested by partners on a global scale, followed by genetic sequencing and analyses to spot trends and specifics that could indicate an emerging threat. Following any uncovering of threats, Abbott will quickly work to develop diagnostic testing to aid in containing the disease.
“We cannot fight what we cannot see coming. This program establishes a global network of ‘eyes on the ground’ that are always looking for threats, which helps the global health community to stay one step ahead of the next viral threat, and allows us to utilize Abbott’s expertise and technology to quickly develop tests to address them,” Abbott head of infectious disease research Gavin Cloherty said in the release. “The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated a clear need for advanced surveillance and viral sequencing – and the critically important role of testing. Understanding what pathogenic threats are emerging will help us test, diagnose and hopefully help prevent the next pandemic.”
Included in the network of partner organizations in strategic geographic locations is:
- Colombia/Wisconsin One-Health Consortium at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin, Colombia
- Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Institut de Recherche en Santé, de Surveillance Epidémiologique et de Formations (IRESSEF), Dakar, Senegal
- KRISP, Genomic Centre of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Rush University System for Health, Chicago, U.S.
- The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica
- Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- YRG Care, Chennai, India
Abbott noted that it is in talks over participation and collaboration with more non-governmental organizations, governments and research centers of excellence.
Abbott is in talks with additional non-governmental organizations, governments and research centers of excellence regarding participation and collaboration.
“In a sophisticated network like the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition, we have access to best-in-class science and technology that makes data collection, analysis and sharing efficient and effective,” president of Institut de Recherche en Santé, de Surveillance Epidemiologique et de Formations (IRESSEF) of Dakar, Senegal professor Souleymane Mboup said. “The key here is collaboration; no single lab or organization in any one country would be able to conduct testing and analysis of this breadth and scale, but connecting global centers of excellence makes it possible for us all to assist in identifying the next potential threats to public health.”
The company has a track record of tracking and monitoring major viruses as, earlier this month, the company announced that a team that included its scientists uncovered a rare group of Democratic Republic of Congo residents who are HIV positive but have almost nonexistent viral loads without using antiretroviral treatments.
In finding these particular cases, researchers now have at their disposal new areas to discover biological trends that could inform the creation of better HIV treatments and potential vaccines.