Covid-19 Funding Opportunities
REACTing, coordinating and accelerating French research on COVID-19
At a time when the Sars-CoV-2 epidemic is continuing to spread, France is mobilizing to accelerate research into the virus and COVID-19 disease through REACTing – a consortium coordinated by Inserm. With the support of the Ministry of Solidarity and Health and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Scientific Advisory Board of REACTing has selected 20 scientific initiatives covering diverse fields, from mathematical modelling to disease prevention and treatment.
Since the emergence of the first cases at the end of 2019, implementing high quality research to contain Sars-CoV-2 as quickly as possible and improve the treatment of those infected have been the objectives of the French scientific community, under the egis of the REACTing network.Following a call for applications made to research teams across France, the COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board of REACTing – a veritable research acceleration consortium – has selected 20 projects from a variety of scientific disciplines.
Chosen for their effective and exhaustive contributions to knowledge production and to fighting this new epidemic, these projects have been categorized as follows:
- → Diagnostic, clinical and therapeutic research projects
- → Epidemiology research projects
- → Fundamental research projects
- → Human and social science research projects
Budget distribution according to categories
The selected research projects: Diagnostic, clinical and therapeutic research
| Summary | Leader |
| Identification and characterization of human monoclonal antibodies neutralizing Covid-19 with the potential for development towards vaccine candidates. | Hugo Mouquet Inserm, Institut Pasteur |
| Establishment of an antibody profile in convalescing patients and preparation of a serological test applied to an epidemiological survey in people exposed to SARS-Cov-2. | Marc Eloit Institut Pasteur Pathogen Discovery laboratory |
| Evolution of SARS-Cov-2 in the human host during infection and humoral response. | Sylvie van der Werf |
| Strategy of repurposing medicines to treat Covid-19 infections. | Bruno Lina |
| Implantation of an assisted ventilation protective mask: acceptability and incorporation in the organization of care. | Jean-Christophe Lucet |
| Randomized, multicenter, adaptive study of the efficacy and safety of treatments for hospitalized patients presenting with Covid-19 infection. | Florence Ader |
Epidemiology
| Summary | Leader |
| Mathematical modelling to anticipate risk of Covid-19 importation by geographical area. | Vittoria Colizza Inserm, Sorbonne Université Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health |
| Monitoring of a cohort of all infected patients in France: a viral kinetics study in untreated patients and a pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) study of those receiving experimental therapies (remdesivir). | France Mentré
Inserm, Université de Paris, Université Paris 13 Infection, Antimicrobials, Modelling, Evolution (IAME) unit |
Monitoring of subjects with confirmed exposure to the novel 2019 coronavirus through virology and immunology studies. | Xavier Duval |
Fundamental
| Summary | Leader |
| Development of a replicon for coronavirus Covid-19. | Dr. Jean-François Eléouët INRAE Molecular Virology and Immunology unit |
| Potentiating existing nucleoside therapies. | Bruno Canardet – Etienne Decroly CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université Architecture and Function of Biological Macromolecules laboratory |
| Implementation of an experimental model of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the cynomolgus monkey. | Roger Le Grand Inserm, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay National Infrastructure for Biology and Health (IDMIT) |
| Live animal and endangered wildlife markets: a study evaluating the risks of Covid-19 transmission in the Mekong Delta region. | Philippe Dussart Institut Pasteur in Cambodia |
| Role of furins in SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein maturation: evaluation of the antiviral potential of furin inhibitors. | Bruno Coutard |
| Proof of concept for the rapid production of recombinant SARS-CoV-2. | Julien Mélade Inserm, IRD, Aix-Marseille Université, French Blood Establishment, École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique Emerging Viruses unit |
| Multidisciplinary project combining artificial intelligence methods with proteins biochemistry. Aims to (1) reconstitute the Covid-19 replication complex in vitro; (2) model it in silico and (3) test nucleotide analog inhibitors (active on other viruses) and protein inhibitors (nanobodies) that will target the protein/protein interactions. | Isabelle Imbert Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS Architecture and Function of Biological Macromolecules laboratory, Polytech Marseille |
Human and social sciences
| Summary | Leader |
| Use of the social sciences to inform public policy in terms of communication in the event of an emerging epidemic, based on social media treatment of the Covid-19 epidemic. | Laetitia Atlani-Duault Inserm, IRD, Université de Paris Health, Gender and Vulnerability in Developing Countries unit |
| The aim of the AEC2-France project is to document and analyze, through anthropology research, the organized confinement for French nationals repatriated from Wuhan, epicenter of the Covid-19 epidemic. | Marc Egrot IRD, Aix-Marseille Université Population-Environment-Development laboratory |
| General population and healthcare professional knowledge, perceptions and behaviors in Metropolitan France in the face of the Covid-2019 epidemic. | Thomas Hanslik Inserm, Sorbonne Université Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health |
| The aim of this project, which mobilizes data collected online and via interviews, is to produce an analytical description of the circulation of scientific data and their principal effects and a framework of analysis combining scientific and political challenges with a view to future research projects. | Guillaume Lachenal Daniel Benamouzig |