Bright Outlook for SARS Research Funding

Bright Outlook for SARS Research Funding By Bernard Tulsi A single bright spot in the otherwise dark SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) story is the new research opportunities it has created for researchers who study infectious diseases. As SARS episodes wax and wane, its long-term public health significance remains unclear. But its severity is undisputed: As of July 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 8,447 cases, including 811 deaths in 30 countries, plus Hong Kong. The National Institutes of Health is funding SARS research through its Small Research Grant programs, for which the next application deadline is Oct. 1; and the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, each with an application deadline of Aug. 1 (healthresearch.niaid.nih.gov/dmid/ sarsopps.htm#r03). The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases opted to accelerate research on SARS and emerging infectious diseases. NIAID's Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases unveiled an array of new funding for SARS research aimed at its surveillance, etiology, and epidemiology. The agency plans to fund clinical trials on FDA-approved antiviral and antimicrobial agents, anticancer drugs, and immune modulators. It is also keen on testing experimental drugs, which would create huge opportunities for biotech researchers with experimental drugs such as proteinase inhibitors, fusion inhibitors, ribavirins (antiviral agents), and interferons in clinical trials. Interdisciplinary research especially interests NIAID. A global interdisciplinary group first sequenced the SARS genome, only a month after the syndrome emerged. NIAID wants to fund research into SARS co-infection with other respiratory pathogens and encourages researchers to explore the disease's resilience. NIAID also is interested in researchers' examining the role of genetic and nongenetic factors associated with SARS (www.niaid.nih.gov/biodefense/rfalplat.htm). The global attack on SARS produced remarkable cooperation among international and governmental health agencies, research laboratories, nonprofit groups, and the global biopharmaceutical industry. Scientists benefit from the excellent opportunity to acquire skills and experience with emerging pathogens and biothreats. Moreover, allocating resources to deliver a cure for a new disease against real-time deadlines is an invaluable experience. Already, there's a rush to lock up several SARS-related patents. Some companies view the emergence of SARS as an opportunity to unleash their platform technologies against the virus. Medarex, of Princeton, NJ, will collaborate with the Massachusetts Biological Laboratories (MBL) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School to develop a fully human monoclonal antibody to treat SARS. GenVec, of Gaithersburg, Md., plans to leverage its adenovirus gene therapy platform to create a SARS vaccine. It plans to form a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Vaccine Research Center of NIAID to develop SARS treatments. Opportunities abound for companies such as vaccine developers that are already working on infectious biothreats. Rockville, Md.-based MacroGenics, which is working on anthrax, plague, and smallpox vaccines, plans to use its antibody engineering tools to develop a SARS treatment. To be sure, many players in the infectious diseases arena need government funding to support long-term product development. Demand for anti-infective products is generally sporadic, seasonal at best, rendering development and production economics quite precarious. The application of these products also opens up liability protection questions. At times when emerging biothreats such as SARS occur, such liability and intellectual property protections find significantly more receptive listeners. Bernard Tulsi (btulsi@mindspring.com) is a financial writer in Newark, Del. function sendData() { document.frm.pathName.value = location.pathname; result = false if (document.frm.score[0].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[1].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[2].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[3].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[4].checked) result = true; if (!result) alert("Please select") return result; } .myradio{background-color : #94bee5} Please indicate on a 1 - 5 scale how strongly you would recommend this article to your colleagues? Not recommended 1 2 3 4 5 Highly recommended Please register your vote

Bright Outlook for SARS Research Funding

Bright Outlook for SARS Research Funding

By Bernard Tulsi

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