The global scientific and technical response to the Covid-19 pandemic illustrates the power of 21st century medical science and technology.  Clearly, a goal, based upon that we’ve learned, can be and should be the elimination of future pandemics.  While Evrys Bio’s daily work is on the development of  therapeutics for a broad range of viral infections, we realize the importance of supporting efforts to prevent future devastating pandemics.  To that end, Evrys Bio wants to highlight the work of organizations much bigger that we could ever be that have taken on this challenge.

Strategic initiatives focused on the big picture are 1) The Global Virome Project and 2) The Trinity Challenge.

The Global Virome Project (GVP) – The GVP envisions a global collection of partnerships targeting the vast pool of unknown future viral threats through the development of a comprehensive ecologic and genetic database of virtually all naturally-occurring viruses. Through the GVP, unknown viruses will be isolated and their sequences shared in a publicly-accessible database.  This database and associated scientific publications will enable us to target high impact interventions to prevent spillover at high-risk animal human interfaces.  Similarly, the work of the GVP will yield benefits by accelerating the development of new diagnostics, vaccine technologies, medicines and risk mitigation strategies against emerging viral diseases.  GVP Ten Year Plan.

The Trinity Challenge (TC) – New technologies are driving rapid progress in vaccines and medicines and we are seeing unprecedented collaboration and effort between companies.  TC seeks to assure the world is better prepared for future pandemics.  COVID-19 has shown there is a clear need to better identify, better respond, and better recover from health emergencies.  TC’s focus is assuring that data and analytics is widely available to identify, generate, and provide insights which shall contribute to the goal of a world better protected from health emergencies.  TC is supported by high tech organizations varying from Plantir, Microsoft, Google, to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BD, GSK and international universities.

 

Amesh Adaljaa of the Center for Health Security, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Thomas Inglesby of the Department of Environmental Health and
Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA wrote a editorial in EXPERT REVIEW OF ANTI-INFECTIVE THERAPY (2019, VOL. 17, NO. 7, 467–470) spelling out the need for broad spectrum antiviral agents to minimize the impact of future pandemics.  Click Here to see the full editorial.

On October 7, 2020, staff scientist Dr. Liudi Tang presented at the Special isirv-AVG Virtual Conference on ‘Therapeutics for COVID-19’ .  Dr. Tang will present the most recent data for one of Evrys Bio’s drug leads which has been demonstrated to have a broad spectrum of activities against a variety of viruses involved in human disease.

The slides that summarize his presentation can be found below.

Inhibition of Sirtuins (Liudi Tang)

Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County is once again in the spotlight, this time as the recipient of more than $1 million in state grants to help with research in pursuing a treatment and vaccine for COVID-19.

Of 23 state awards, the biotechnology center, located next to the Doylestown Airport in Buckingham, received four grants, bringing in $1.1 million of the $10 million statewide allocation. The money will help support the biotech center’s renovation plans, which will add research and training labs, more than 100 new jobs and new offices for COVID-19 research and development.

Two grants will go to scientists developing potential COVID-19 treatments at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute at the biotech center and a hub for virology research for more than 17 years.

Another $322,000 grant is going to one of the center’s member companies, Evrys Bio. The company’s scientists are developing host-targeted antiviral drugs that can block the growth of different respiratory viruses including coronaviruses, and that can provide a high barrier to drug resistance.

Lillian Chiang, CEO of Evrys Bio, said her company’s goal is to develop broad-spectrum drugs that treat multiple viruses causing respiratory disease, rather than a single virus.

“We are grateful for these funds from the state of Pennsylvania that will enable us to extend our testing to SARS-CoV2, speeding our efforts to contribute to a COVID-19 solution,” said Chiang.

The biotechnology center, which opened in 2006, has more than 70 member companies, 41 of which have offices or labs in the facility.

More information

July 22, 2020:  In response to emergency research funding for COVID-19, the supplement extends testing of Evrys broad-spectrum antivirals to coronaviruses including SRAS-CoV-2. ABSTRACT