New research network focuses on high-priority viruses

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has established a Pandemic Preparedness Research Network to conduct high-priority research on pathogens most likely to threaten human health, with the goal of developing effective vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. Currently, there are no available vaccines or therapeutics for many of the diseases caused by these pathogens, and investing in this research is key to preparing for potential health crises—both in the United States and around the world. The NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) expects to provide approximately $100 million per year to fund the program, as funds become available.

The Vaccine and Monoclonal Antibody Research and Development Network for Pandemic Preparedness — called ReVAMPP — will focus its research efforts on “prototype pathogens,” representative pathogens from virus families known to infect humans, as well as high-priority pathogens that have the potential to cause deadly disease. By studying specific prototype pathogens, scientists will build a knowledge base that could be applied to other related viruses. For example, NIAID’s previous work on Middle East coronavirus (MERS-CoV) played a critical role in understanding and developing safe and effective treatments and vaccines for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The ReVAMPP network will study viruses from virus families that have caused human disease for millennia — many of which have the potential to become a pandemic threat in the future.

“Given the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases, the need for robust pandemic preparedness is evident,” said NIAID Director Jeanne M. Marrazzo, MD, MPH

The ReVAMPP network will enable researchers to fill important knowledge gaps and identify strategies to develop safe and effective medical countermeasures for specific virus families before the need becomes critical.”

Jeanne M. Marrazzo, Director, NIAID

The ReVAMPP network focuses on viruses from the following families:

• The order Bunyavirales, which includes the Sin Nombre virus of the Hantavirus family, the Oropouche virus, and viruses that cause Rift Valley fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Lassa fever
• The Flaviviridae family, which includes viruses that cause dengue and yellow fever
• The Paramyxoviridae family, which includes viruses that cause measles, mumps and Nipah-induced encephalitis
• The Picornaviridae family, which includes viruses that cause poliomyelitis, foot-and-mouth disease and myocarditis
• The Togaviridae family, which includes viruses that cause arthralgia or encephalitis caused by the chikungunya virus and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis

By focusing on research to develop vaccine candidates and monoclonal antibodies, the ReVAMPP network will lay the foundation for a faster and more effective pandemic response should a virus from one of the target families emerge as a pandemic threat.

The Research Triangle Institute in Durham, North Carolina, will serve as a central coordination and data sharing center to support and coordinate the network. By standardizing experimental design, such as using specific reagents, animal models, and data sets, the research centers that are part of the ReVAMPP network will be able to easily share their results and collaborate to improve the network's efforts.