Pandemic response and preparedness has presented significant health, economic and social challenges. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for greater investment in therapeutics development, it’s clear that existing commercial and academic funding models will not deliver the required platforms.
The Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics will become the world’s pre-eminent medical research Centre focused on therapeutic development for future pandemics with a unique approach.
The world needs detection and diagnostics, vaccines and treatments to control a pandemic. In the inevitable event of the next pandemic, therapeutics will help to reduce the progression of infection to disease, reduce disease severity and reduce transmission of infection and fill the gap if a vaccine is unavailable.
Yet, the world is not investing in them at the necessary scale or speed. During the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, USD$91 billion was publicly invested globally in vaccines compared to just USD$4.6 billion in therapeutics. As a result, therapeutic drugs only became available in July 2023 – three years after vaccine approval.
Whether the next pandemic comes from a known or unknown pathogen, we must see significant investment in methodical therapeutic research and development, trials and manufacturing equal to vaccines and diagnostics.
Since the early 2000s, researchers have advanced the science behind treatments to develop the highly effective antiviral drugs available for both hepatitis B and C today. These therapeutics target the virus directly, reducing side effects and improving effectiveness compared with previous interferon treatments. In the case of hepatitis C, this innovation has led to highly effective cures for 95% of people treated.
It’s difficult to identify the pathogen that will cause the next pandemic. No-one predicted SARS-CoV-2, so it’s critical that we are prepared for threats both known and unknown.
A future is possible where therapeutics are rapidly available following the identification of a novel virus, reducing the overwhelming devastation of a potential pandemic. Yet, this is only possible through continued significant investment in ‘always on’ research and development.
We will focus on developing platform technologies that will apply to any future pandemic, no matter the pathogen. This ‘plug and play’ approach aims to make pandemic therapeutic treatments available in much shorter timeframes than currently possible.
Academic research plays a crucial role in discovering and expanding ideas, but pressures limit progress. The “publish or perish” mentality that encourages low-risk research, preferencing incremental progress and profitability over critical breakthroughs, stifles innovation.
That’s why we take a mission-driven approach:
The Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics was established in Melbourne’s biomedical precinct in recognition of the state of Victoria’s global standing as a leader in biomedical research and learning.
Positioning the Centre within the precinct will accelerate research translation and commercialisation through proximity to potential partners including biopharma companies, research institutes, hospitals, and specialist facilities and services such as: clinical trials, antiviral screening and molecular structural analysis.
The Cumming Global Centre is established within the Doherty Institute located in the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct and will form part of the $650M Australian Institute for Infectious Disease (AIID), which has been funded by the Victorian Government and is set to open in 2027.
Designed to protect Australia and the region against infectious disease and future pandemics, the AIID involves establishing a Victoria-wide alliance with the Burnet Institute and the University of Melbourne in delivering a new purpose-built facility in the biomedical precinct.
The COVID-19 pandemic proved the need for a globally coordinated response to accelerate scientific discovery to save lives. Yet, while a global approach was taken to vaccine development, it didn’t exist for therapeutics.
Our international focus is one of the reasons why the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics is the first of its kind. We take a partnership approach to attract global research expertise from diverse disciplines, driving long-term impact. We currently collaborate with 30+ institutions in 10 countries worldwide.
