AVITHRAPID introduced at SC25 exhibition
The AVITHRAPID consortium had a great opportunity to present its ambitious objectives and results during the International Conference for High Performance computing, networking, storage, and analysis in St. Louis, US, on November 17th-21st. SC is an unparalleled mix of thousands of scientists, engineers, researchers, educators, programmers, and developers who intermingle to learn, share, and grow. A worldwide event to meet and interact with industry, research organizations, universities, and startups joining together from across the globe. 16,500 attendees and 559 exhibitors met during the 4-days event. IT4Innovations at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, partner of AVITHRAPID, presented project’s activities, findings and milestones to a passionate scientific audience and showcased a digital presentation to the public. Our partner reported 383 unique attendees of the IT4I booth. Net
AREVIR Meeting in Cologne
The 25th AREVIR Meeting featured a special joint session dedicated to AVITHRAPID projectThis session also included presentations by the lead scientists from different projects, covering preliminary activities, current findings, and future steps to address evolving challenges. EuResist, member of AVITHRAPID consortium, presented the project to an audience of more than 100 people (infectious diseases specialists, virologists, AI researchers), as part of the international meeting that has been held in Cologne for over 15 years. Francesca Incardona’s talk highlighted AVITHRAPID’s rapid-response approach to future pandemics, leveraging high-performance computing and real-world collaboration across disciplines. The session also featured contributions from leading scientists on data-driven surveillance, WGS-based severity prediction, and cross-national health data integration. Program
AVITHRAPID in Berlin
On 16 and 17 of June, members of our consortium from across Europe came together for a dedicated two-day general meeting focused on shaping the future of antiviral development. This exclusive meeting was designed to foster strategic dialogue, operational alignment, and scientific exchange among project partners, creating space for deeper collaboration and forward-looking vision. Throughout the event, we monitored and evaluate the current status of the project, examining achievements to date, unresolved challenges, and next steps. This meeting provided also the opportunity to connect more closely with fellow consortium members, strengthen the coherence of our multi-disciplinary efforts, and identify new synergies that can shape the second phase of the project. Communication, dissemination, and the broader societal impact of AVITHRAPID was at the heart of the discussions, ensuring that our scientific progress is aligned with the real-world needs we aim to address.
AVITHRAPID Seminar Series: Advancing European Collaboration on Broad-Spectrum Antivirals
On May 19, 2025, AVITHRAPID held the second event in its official seminar series, strengthening ties with a key Horizon Europe sibling initiative: the NAVIPP Consortium (New Antivirals Against Infections with Pandemic Potential). This encounter reflects a shared vision—to accelerate the discovery and development of broad-spectrum antiviral solutions to better prepare Europe for future epidemic and pandemic threats. Over 35 participants from all around Europe have taken part in the online event. Strengthening Synergies Between Leading EU ConsortiaAVITHRAPID and NAVIP both operate under the same Horizon Europe framework and are united in their mission to boost Europe’s capabilities to detect, test, and advance new antiviral candidates. The seminar created space for each consortium to share updates on scientific progress, showcase technological strengths, and reflect on future possibilities for collaboration. The session featured insightful presentations from both consortia, emphasizing their complementary approaches and scientific strategies. Following these, a dynamic discussion explored shared priorities such as: NAVIPP: A Consortium with Deep Containment ExpertiseThe NAVIPP consortium, coordinated by ERINHA, benefits from an extensive network of high-biosafety laboratories across Europe and includes public research institutions, academic centers, and private sector innovators. Their work focuses on prioritized viral families, including flaviviruses and filoviruses, with promising results already emerging from their high-throughput screening efforts. These are now moving forward into validation using sophisticated in vitro and ex vivo models. AVITHRAPID: Building a Rapid-Response Antiviral PipelineAVITHRAPID, coordinated by Fraunhofer with contributions from 18 partners across eight countries, is assembling an integrated antiviral R&D pipeline. Its research activities span from hit identification and lead optimization to formulation, delivery, and clinical readiness—underpinned by in silico tools such as the Exscalate platform and reinforced by BSL3/4 laboratory capacity. The consortium is currently progressing a diverse portfolio of compounds, including: A Positive Outlook for Future CollaborationThe seminar confirmed a strong alignment between NAVIP and AVITHRAPID—not only in scientific focus but also in commitment to open collaboration. Both consortia expressed interest in: Conclusion: A Shared Commitment to Europe’s Health SecurityBy bringing together complementary strengths, this seminar marked a step forward in building a collaborative, agile, and innovation-driven antiviral research ecosystem in Europe. Through regular dialogue and aligned scientific strategies, projects like AVITHRAPID and NAVIP are showing how Europe can lead the way in preparing for the infectious disease challenges of tomorrow. Stay connected as AVITHRAPID continues to build bridges and deliver results across the European research landscape.
AVITHRAPID at INF-ACT Conference
The partners of AVITHRAPID strive to disseminate project activities during key scientific events, both at local and international level. High-profile conferences are pivotal opportunities to meet academia and industries and confront with state-of-the-art research in AVITHRAPID-related topics. This INF-ACT conference, held in Naples on April 3rd-5th, offered a broad and important opportunity for networking to discuss the latest research developments in the field of emerging infectious diseases with a multidisciplinary and One Health approach. The program included a day of round tables with stakeholders from important public and private sectors on the role and relevance of Next Generation EU research and projects (particularly in Italy), health policies and the implementation of One Health approaches, followed by two days of intense multidisciplinary scientific discussions. The event counted several significant moments, including prestigious international speakers and poster sessions that offered all participants the opportunity to present and discuss the most recent scientific results. Dr.Antonietta Mollo, University of Napoli “Federico II”, presented the poster “Identification of novel Broad-Spectrum SARS-CoV-2 PLpro Inhibitors” to the research community. Poster
The ARCA Factory event
Francesca Incardona of EuResist network, member of Avithrapid consortium, was in Bologna to explore international collaborations at a 2 days workshop for infectious diseases specialists and virologists: the ARCA (Antiretroviral Resistance Cohort Analysis) Factory event (Bologna 30 Sept-1 October).ARCA Factory (https://www.informapro.it/arca.html) is one of the educational events organised by ARCA (http://www.hivARCA.net) a large HIV Italian cohort focused on resistance, led by Maurizio Zazzi at UniSiena and with the technical support of I-PRO (EuResist). ARCA is a public database for the studying of resistance to anti-HIV drugs (antiretroviral drugs). It is fed by data coming from different centres, mostly universities and care facilities. The database is aimed to develop mathematical prediction models of response to anti-HIV treatment, providing a freely accessible tool to optimize therapies.Incardona briefly presented AVITHRAPID as a successful high level European network and had the opportunity to showcase the high-level profile of the international partners of the project. It was also an excellent opportunity to share their objectives of improving Europe’s research capacities by becoming a key instrument for supporting research on viral pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential. Dissemination of activities and exploitation of results are key activities of AVITHRAPID and workshops like ARCA Factory are main target events for spreading knowledge and exploring new collaborations. Aware of the importance of sustainability of project results and multiplier effects, the Avithrapid consortium agreed to a programme for the use of backgrounds and foregrounds to leverage the results during and after project end. Special attention has been paid from the onset of the project to communicating effectively to the relevant community, e.g. the scientific community, that are not part of the consortium, especially for educational and training opportunities, trials and testing, bringing about expected scientific uptakes and policy measures.
European Researchers’ Night in Frascati, Italy
Science at Your Fingertips: The Significance of the European Researchers’ Night in Frascati On October 2, 2024, Avithrapid was introduced to the scientific community and the public during the European Researchers’ Night in Frascati, Rome. This event, part of the Science Week that began on September 21st, featured a multitude of activities across partner cities and in Frascati itself, where the streets, schools, and historic sites were awash in magenta, symbolizing a passion for knowledge. This year, thanks to a resolution by the Municipality of Frascati, Frascati Scienza was granted access to the so-called “Valadier Walls”—nine rooms located in the historical heart of the city. This choice of evocative settings aims to bridge the past and future, connecting research with the everyday lives of people. Science Isn’t Just for Researchers Researchers’ Night provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate how science impacts every aspect of our daily lives, addressing our curiosities and the challenges of our time. It’s essential that events like this are not confined to laboratories or academic circles but occur in community-accessible spaces where everyone can feel involved. Connecting Avithrapid with the Public Introducing Avithrapid in this context is not only a chance to showcase scientific advancements but also to directly engage with the public, gathering feedback and explaining the significance of new discoveries. Direct feedback from participants helps better guide future research and understand which aspects of science garner more interest or need further clarification. Looking Forward We remain committed to making science accessible to all, promoting an informative and constructive dialogue. Researchers’ Night is just one example of how we can make scientific knowledge a common good, crucial for societal progress.