02 Jun 2020
Australian Government invests in new medicines for COVID-19
The Australian Government will invest $66 million into finding a vaccine and treatments for COVID-19 through its Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), including significant research programs supported by Doherty Institute scientists.
The grants were announced today by Australian Health Minister the Hon. Greg Hunt MP and are an important boost to the institute’s research efforts to tackle COVID-19.
This includes funding an innovative research program that uses stem cell-derived tissues to rapidly test drugs already approved for use in humans for activity against COVID-19.
It will also fund a research program led by the Walter and Eliza Hill Institute, in collaboration with the Doherty Institute and other experts, to develop new ‘biologics’ medicines to prevent or treat COVID-19.
Utilising stem cell-derived tissues to test drugs
The stem cell program - led by University of Melbourne Professor Kanta Subbarao Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research in Influenza at the Doherty Institute in close collaboration with stem cell biologists at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Monash University and University of Melbourne - will use tissue models derived from human stem cells to identify drugs with antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
As there are currently no licensed coronavirus-specific antiviral drugs, the research team will focus on repurposing drugs that are already approved for use in humans for other purposes because they can be advanced directly to clinical trial if they show antiviral activity in vitro.
“With a vaccine still many months away, antivirals are critical to global efforts to reduce the impact of COVID-19,” Professor Subbarao said.
“Firstly, they could be used to help reduce the impact of people severely ill with COVID-19, reducing the need for ventilation support in hospitals and reducing the death toll. They could reduce the infectiousness of the virus, and potentially play a role in treating mild or asymptomatic infection. Finally, they could be used to prevent infection as a pre-exposure prophylaxis – a strategy that’s been very successful for the prevention of HIV,” Professor Subbarao said.
The Doherty Institute and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research Berghofer will commence this important work, with other laboratories able to join in coming months.
Developing ‘biologics’ medicines
Another program, led by Associate Professor Wai-Hong Tham at the Walter and Eliza Hill Institute in collaboration with Doherty Institute co-investigators Professor Dale Godfrey, Dr Amy Chung, Dr Adam Wheatley and Professor Stephen Kent, is developing new ‘biologics’ to prevent or treat COVID-19. Biologics are medicines that mimic naturally occurring proteins such as antibodies – immune proteins that fight infection. Antibodies are already in clinical use for diseases such as cancer and inflammatory and autoimmune conditions and have also been used for the treatment and prevention of other viruses such as Ebola and HIV.
Associate Professor Tham said the program is searching for new biologics medicines that prevent the COVID-19 coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, from binding to human lung cells – the first step in the virus infection cycle.
“Biologics medicines for COVID-19 could be important tools for preventing infections as well as treating people in the early stages of the disease,” said Associate Professor Tham.
“Our consortium is searching for antibodies that block the interaction between the ‘spike’ protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the ACE2 receptor on human lung cells. These two proteins form the ‘lock and key’ system through which SARS-CoV-2 invades cells. If we can block these proteins’ interactions, we stop the virus infecting a cell,” said Professor Tham.
The biologics research program brings together the expertise of Victorian and Australian academic and industry leaders in infectious diseases and antibody therapeutics, at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, the Doherty Institute, CSL, Affinity Bio, CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Burnet Institute and Kirby Institute. The MRFF has provided $1,990,000 to support the program.
Molecular clamp technology for vaccine development
The University of Queensland (UQ), in collaboration with the Doherty Institute and CSIRO, will receive a further $2 million for its innovative “molecular clamp” technology, which allows new vaccines to be developed within months, rather than years, in response to emerging diseases.
The Molecular Clamp platform is Australia’s most advanced COVID-19 vaccine and is one of only four programs globally supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) for a rapid response to the outbreak.
The research team, led by UQ and evaluated by Professor Katherine Kedzierska, Professor Damian Purcell and Dr Amy Chung at the Doherty Institute, have identified a candidate vaccine molecule and aim to complete pre-clinical evaluation of its safety and protective efficacy. The research will investigate immune protection in COVID-19 patients during recovery, along with any immune responses associated with poor outcomes. Assays for these immune responses will be developed and used in animal vaccination studies before progressing to human Phase 1 clinical trial.
Convalescent plasma for COVID-19
This study will evaluate whether plasma collected from people who have recovered from COVID-19 containing antibodies against the virus can act as a treatment for patients admitted to hospital or intensive care with COVID-19.
Led by Monash University Associate Professor Zoe McQuilten - in collaboration with University of Melbourne Professor Damian Purcell and Royal Melbourne Hospital Associate Professor Steven Tong, both based at the Doherty Institute – the team will establish the process to collect, test and administer the convalescent plasma. The researchers will test whether it is safe and effective in two large, multicentre, national clinical trials.
“The research is important because if we demonstrate safety and efficacy, then this product could be rapidly made available for treatment of patients with COVID-19,” said Associate Professor McQuilten.
Investigating inhaled treatments for COVID-19
A collaborative research project between Monash University, Murdoch University and the University of Melbourne is investigating the potential inhaled treatment for COVID-19 that has different mechanism than other treatments and vaccines in development.
COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus that uses the cell-surface protein, Angiotensin-Converting Enzype 2 (ACE2), to access and infect cells of the lung. Most vaccines and other potential treatments focus on blocking the coronavirus.
The research team - led by Professor Merlin Thomas at Monash University and supported by the University of Melbourne’s Dr Julie McAuley, based at the Doherty Institute – have taken a different approach by targeting ACE2. They have discovered a novel way to change ACE2 in order to prevent the coronavirus using it to get into the lung cells. Moreover, they can now do this without losing the good things that ACE2 does in the lung.
Building on scientific expertise
In response to today’s announcement, Doherty Institute Director Professor Sharon Lewin said the funding would support scientists who were working around the clock to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s fantastic to see how the MRFF has been used to fund research that will answer some of the major challenges in COVID-19 and leverage the expertise of our scientists,” said Professor Lewin.
“In less than six months, this virus has swept the world and created widespread devastation. Although the peak of the outbreak has passed in Australia, there is a very real possibility of a resurgence of infections.
“I’m pleased to see the Australian Government recognising this by swiftly releasing funds to invest in important programs that take us one step closer to tackling this pandemic,” Professor Lewin said.