Once the pandemic subsides and the virus continues to circulate endemically amongst parts of the population, specific antiviral agents to treat SARS-CoV-2 will continue to be crucial. The virus may cause more severe disease in unvaccinated persons, in persons who have not built up sufficient immunity, even after multiple vaccine doses, and in people in whom vaccine efficacy drops after some time. Ideally, any medication should be easy to administer, effective and affordable. "The few existing medications against SARS-CoV-2 do not suffice. Highly effective agents that can be used as early as possible after infection are important to stop viral replication and disease progression as well as pathogen transmission," states chemist and virologist Prof. Dr. Helga Rübsamen-Schaeff, speaker of the working group and member of the Leopoldina. Furthermore, antiviral agents are required on a global scale. Readily available medications, which can be inhaled or administered orally, are urgently needed in those regions of the world where access to vaccines and medical infrastructure is limited.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of better preparedness for newly emerging pathogens. "Antiviral agents should not only be developed once a new virus has become pandemic. It should be vigorously pursued in advance," says virologist Prof. Dr. Ralf Bartenschlager, also a speaker of the working group and member of the Leopoldina. Broad-spectrum antivirals ‒ a class of compounds, which are effective against as many different variants of a virus family as possible ‒ are important in this context. One approach is to target those viral structures and functions, which rarely change. Other approaches include targeting cellular factors such as virus binding sites on human cells as well as agents that stimulate the immune system, thereby increasing resilience against a viral infection.

Better pandemic preparedness requires increasing both fundamental research and translational research activities, which support the transition into clinical practice and development of broad-spectrum medication against viruses, which could potentially cause a pandemic. The working group recommends establishing an organisational structure that allows essential infrastructure networks to form. It also suggests cooperation between academic institutions and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Representatives of research institutions, of regulatory authorities and policy makers should form part of such a network to make effective therapies available faster ‒ particularly in emergency situations.

Academia needs to provide a coordinated research infrastructure to promote translation into clinical practice. The working group states that Germany still lacks structures for early-stage pilot and feasibility studies and also for large clinical studies. The experts recommend that test centres, outpatient care, public healthcare services, care facilities and university outpatient departments form networks.

The working group also suggests more effective epidemiological monitoring of circulating virus strains as well as their pandemic potential. This could be achieved by providing public healthcare services with better access to sequencing capacity and sequencing databases, enabling timely detection of emerging virus variants and monitoring their spread.

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About the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
As the German National Academy of Sciences, the Leopoldina provides independent science-based policy advice on matters relevant to society. To this end, the Academy develops interdisciplinary statements based on scientific findings. In these publications, options for action are outlined; making decisions, however, is the responsibility of democratically legitimized politicians. The experts who prepare the statements work in a voluntary and unbiased manner. The Leopoldina represents the German scientific community in the international academy dialogue. This includes advising the annual summits of Heads of State and Government of the G7 and G20 countries. With 1,600 members from more than 30 countries, the Leopoldina combines expertise from almost all research areas. Founded in 1652, it was appointed the National Academy of Sciences of Germany in 2008. The Leopoldina is committed to the common good.

Contact:
Dr. Johannes Fritsch
Head of Office of the Joint Committee for the Handling of Security-Relevant Research
E-Mail: johannes.fritsch@leopoldina.org