Partners

The consortium partners are among the leaders in Europe in their respective professional fields or industries. These research institutions, universities, organizations, and companies have the complementary knowledge, experience, and infrastructure required for the successful implementation of the project.

LUMC

The Molecular Virology Laboratory of the Center for Infectious Diseases (LUCID) at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands is specialized in studying the molecular biology of RNA virus replication and uses this knowledge to support the development of novel antiviral strategies, in particular for corona-, alpha-, and flaviviruses. LUMC coordinates the PANVIPREP consortium and has previously coordinated similar international research projects on antiviral drug development, like the pandemic response project SCORE (www.score-cov.eu). Within the PANVIPREP consortium, LUMC leads the management and dissemination work packages with  Professor Eric Snijder as coordinator, who is assisted by project managers Danijela Koppers-Lalic and Ed Schmidt. Within the project development program the LUMC Principal Investigators Martijn van Hemert and Sebe Myeni contribute to hit validation, (cross)resistance studies, reverse genetics and mode of action studies, biochemical assays, and proof of concept studies.

AMU 

AMU leads WP4 and drive the structural and functional viral target characterisation essential for rapidly assessing inhibition properties in hit-to-lead development. AMU will manage data in an Enzyme BioBank of general interest beyond the consortium. AMU will organise a list and repository of prioritised viral targets to determine MoA of hits from internal and external sources.

CD3 (CISTIM)

The Centre for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3) is a drug discovery centre and investment fund of the University of Leuven, Belgium (KU Leuven) driving the translation of innovative basic research to the clinic. As investment fund, CD3 invests in drug discovery projects as well as in spin-off companies and biotechs, while as drug discovery centre, it complements investments with an experienced drug discovery team and state-of-the-art infrastructure. The cornerstone of CD3’s activities are hand-in-hand collaborations with academic research groups and biotech or pharma partners, always aimed at discovering and developing new medicines. CD3 successfully developed multiple innovative drugs currently being evaluated in the clinic for a variety of medical needs including in the field of virology.

UU

The Virology section at the Faculty of veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University (UU) studies RNA viruses that infect humans and animals, aiming to translate this knowledge into new methods to prevent or treat viral infections. As a group, we study corona-, influenza-, paramyxo- and picornaviruses. Within the PANVIPREP consortium, UU contributes its proprietary knowledge on enteroviruses. UU has participated in many international research projects on antiviral drug development and coordinated two European Training Networks on this topic (EUVIRNA and ANTIVIRALS). Our PANVIPREP team consists of Professor Frank van Kuppeveld, co-Principal Investigator dr. Daniel Hurdiss, Dr. Robin Veenstra and Hatice Ozhan. We will contribute our expertise in molecular and cellular virology, biochemistry, and advanced microscopy (incl cryo-EM) to develop novel inhibitors against emerging enteroviruses (e.g. EV-A71 and EV-D68).

IVI

IVI leads WP6 and provides its experimental systems (different viruses/virus families, cell culture models, primary airway cultures, in vivo models) for assessing hits and contributing to MOA and inhibitor studies in vivo. It includes its reverse genetics platform to generate attenuated viruses.

Uzl

UzL provides structure-based drug design (SBDD) to identify potential inhibitors for target proteases using methods implemented in structural biology (protein crystallography, cryoEM, fragment screening design, etc.).

HZI

The Department of Chemical Biology, comprising the PK/PD unit, at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Germany deals with innovative drug design and synthesis (including PROTACs), mode of action studies of anti-infectives, and the understanding of their pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamics (PD) relationships. By this, HZI contributes to finding new strategies to fight viral infections and helps to advance compounds towards clinical application. HZI is a partner of PANVIPREP consortium and has previously worked in similar international research projects on antiviral drug development, such as the pandemic response project SCORE (www.score-cov.eu). Within the PANVIPREP consortium, Mark Brönstrup and Katharina Rox serve as Principal Investigators and are responsible for chemical synthesis, characterization of PROTACs as well as PK/PD of small molecules.

Janssen

Janssen provides deprioritised hits explored in the CARE project. As a partner in AI/ML model development, Janssen will work on hit enrichment. Janssen can carry out primary cell experiments (ALI cultures) and in vivo hamster studies. As a commercial partner, Janssen will be key in driving post-project drug development.

Spiez Laboratory (VBS-DDPS)

Spiez Laboratory Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection:

The Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) coordinates protection against various disasters and emergencies. Spiez Laboratory is the Federal Institute for NBC-Protection, i.e. protection against nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) threats and dangers. It contributes to prevention efforts and the preparation of protective measures, as well as detection and protection against contamination and infection. Virological research activities are focused on pandemic preparedness as reflected in the participation in projects and consortia focusing on vaccinology (EBOVAC, EBOPLUS) and antiviral testing (PAD) against zoonotic and/or emerging viruses. Dr. Olivier Engler and Dr. Hulda R. Jonsdottir serve as principal investigators, supported by Dr. Roland Züst and Damian Jandrasits. As a member of PANVIPREP, Spiez Laboratory will conduct antiviral testing in maximum containment (BSL-4), against highly pathogenic viruses.

UCTP

UCTP provides its expertise in computer-aided drug design for the identification of new antiviral hits, as well as supporting the hit-to-lead and lead optimisation stages. UCTP will also support medicinal chemistry and synthesising novel antivirals, including PROTAC derivatives.

CSIC

PANVIPREP member profile: The group “Nucleoside and analogues” at the Instituto de Química Médica (IQM-CSIC)

The group “Nucleoside and analogues” at the Instituto de Química Médica (IQM) belonging to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid (Spain) provides expertise in medicinal chemistry and contributes to PANVIPREP through the design, synthesis and optimization of small molecules as antivirals, participating in WP3 and 4. The group has previously collaborated with different PANVIPREP partners in the identification and optimization of several first-in-class antivirals. The principal investigator is María-Jesús Pérez-Pérez, assisted by other senior team members: María-José Camarasa, Eva-María Priego, Ana San-Félix, Ernesto Quesada and Sonia de Castro. Ana González-Paredes, also a senior scientist at the IQM belonging to the Nanomedicine and Imaging group, is responsible of nanoparticle formulations of the antivirals within PANVIPREP.

The Laboratory of Structural Biology at the University of South Bohemia (USB)

The Laboratory of Structural Biology at the University of South Bohemia (USB), led by Prof. Ivana Kutá Smatanová, specializes in antiviral research, focusing on structural analysis of viral proteases (e.g., EV-D68 3Cpro and EV-A71/EV-D68 2Apro) within the PANVIPREP consortium. Previously participating in the Makrokomplex project, the lab employs techniques like cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography, and single-molecule spectroscopy to study viral complexes. As an international partner, USB contributes expertise in structural biology, biochemical assays, and antiviral drug development, advancing innovative solutions against infectious diseases.

Zafiro

Zafiro is an international consultancy SME with decade-long consulting, marketing-communication and project management experiences in R&I projects.

EPITHELIX

Epithelix (www.epithelix.com) is a leader for in vitro assessment of drug efficacy and toxicity of inhaled chemicals or mixtures on human respiratory tract. Epithelix has developed unique state of the art 3D in vitro human airway tissues (MucilAir™, SmallAir™ and AlveolAir™) modelling several anatomical regions of the respiratory tract and offers alternatives to animal testing services for studying airway pathologies like Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases, Bacterial and Viral infections. Within the Panviprep project. Epithelix is active in WP3 and WP4. Dr. Ghislaine Arib, Rosy Bonfante and Dr. Samuel Constant contribute to in vitro antiviral efficacy evaluation of lead compounds selected by the consortium.