The AVITHRAPID research consortium assembles renowned experts from all over Europe to create a critical mass for the development of novel antiviral compounds with broad-spectrum activity. It’s truly interdisciplinary composition enables the setup of a fully operational pre-clinical drug discovery platform starting from target identification and validation up to in-vivo studies in animal models. Moreover, the integration of partners with expertise in clinical trials offers additional capabilities for rapid development of novel antiviral therapeutics. Our action aims to build the foundation for sustaining the cooperation between all partners in order to rapidly respond to future pandemic outbreaks.

 

 

Consortium Members

Country

Germany

City

Hamburg

Positioning of Institute

Fraunhofer ITMP has a long-standing expertise in early-stage drug discovery, in particular in the field of small molecules targeting infectious diseases. Using state-of-the-art screening methods, Fraunhofer ITMP will support the development of novel antiviral compounds and provide its expertise in data management and handling to the AVITHRAPID consortium. 

Work Package

WP1, Pre-Clinical Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry (participant)

WP6, Dissemination, patients outreach and sustainability (lead participant)

WP 7, FAIR Data Management (lead participant)

WP 8, Project Management (lead participant, coordinator)

Leading Investigator

Björn Windshügel, Fraunhofer ITMP

Quote Leading Investigator 

“AVITHRAPID intends to develop new treatment options against viral diseases with pandemic potential, which is a huge challenge. We are proud to be part of such an ambitious and innovative project that will help to contain future viral outbreaks and thereby save the lives of many people worldwide.”

Contact leading person 

bjoern.windshuegel@itmp.fraunhofer.de

Website

https://www.itmp.fraunhofer.de

Country

CH

City

Lugano

Positioning of Institute

Chelonia stands out as a key international partner for complex, multi-layer, and multi-stakeholder projects, offering temporary increases in R&D and Business Development resources to companies and research institutions. Additionally, it plays a pivotal role in selecting and engaging Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), marking its importance in driving the success of innovative and challenging projects.

Work Package

WP6 – Dissemination, patients outreach and sustainability

Role

Lead Participant W6

Leading Investigator

Silvano Coletti, CEO Chelonia SA

Quote Leading Investigator

Participating in the AVITHRAPID project aligns perfectly with Chelonia’s mission to forefront the battle against viral threats through innovative solutions. This project, focused on developing broad-spectrum antivirals, is a crucial step towards safeguarding global health. For Chelonia, it’s an opportunity to contribute our expertise towards a monumental leap in antiviral research and development, reinforcing our commitment to science that serves humanity.”

Contact leading Person

silvano.coletti@chelonia.swiss

Website

www.chelonia.swiss

Country

Netherlands

City

Amsterdam

Positioning of Institute

First Health Pharmaceuticals (FHP) has a leading position in the field of small-molecule inhibitors of RNA Helicase host proteins. Human RNA helicases have multifaceted functions and are host proteins hijacked during the replication of various viruses. The DDX3 inhibitors developed by FHP have the potential to become broad spectrum antivirals to fight several potentially pandemic viruses.

Work Packages

WP1 – Preclinical Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry; WP4 – In silico resources and ML applications; WP5 – Formulation and Delivery 

Role

Lead Participant WP5

Leading Investigator

Matteo Andreini

Quote Leading Investigator

“The AVITHRAPID project with its focus on the identification of agents against new potential viral threats represent an ideal initiative for the development of broad spectrum antivirals, such as the DDX3 inhibitors discovered by First Health Pharmaceuticals. We are proud to contribute to this project, and with the help of the whole consortium, to increase the preparedness to future viral outbreaks and avoid the next pandemic.”

Contact leading Person

matteo@firsthealthpharma.com

Website

www.firsthealthpharma.com

Country

Portugal

City

Lissabon

Name of Department

Physical Biochemistry of Drugs & Targets lab

Positioning of Institute

The Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Lisbon, offers expertise in therapeutic strategies, namely drug interactions with lipids and membrane receptors for the AVITHRAPID project. Our group, the Physical Biochemistry of Drugs & Targets lab, focus on broad spectrum antiviral drugs that cross the blood-brain and blood-placental barriers.

Work Package

WP2 – Preclinical Developments

Role

Partner

Leading Investigator

Miguel Castanho

Quote Leading Investigator

“The AVITHRAPID project is the ideal environment to advance our broad-spectrum antiviral drug development program. We will contribute to task 2.3 of the Work Package 2 bringing expertise in one animal model of Zika virus infection. Our expectation is that AVITHRAPID will deliver new drug leads to improve readiness and preparedness for the next viral pandemic.”

Contact leading Person

macastanho@medicina.ulisboa.pt

Website

Miguel Castanho Lab

Country

France

City

Nouzilly

Name Department

Animal Health Department

Positioning of Institute

At INRAE we provide unique facilities and know-how to meet experimental needs on small and large animals under high safety containment. The infectiology platform (PFIE) provides the whole international scientific community, both public and private, with high containment facilities for studying infectious diseases. The PFIE conducts in vivo studies on a wide range of farm, wild and laboratory animal species. It enables experiments on numerous biological agents, including MOTs* and GMOs** to be conducted under BSL2 or BSL3 containment. The PFIE also develops new models and designs original experimental systems for veterinary and biomedical research.

Work Packages

WP2 – Preclinical Development; WP6 – Dissemination, Patient Outreach & Sustainability; WP7 FAIR Data Management; WP8 – Project Management

Role

Lead Participant WP 2

Leading Investigator

Mickael Riou

Contact leading Person

mickael.riou@inrae.fr; marie-isabelle.thoulouze@envt.fr; christelle.rossignol@inrae.fr;
alisson.niepceron@inrae.fr

Website

https://eng-pfie.val-de-loire.hub.inrae.fr/

Country

Italy

City

Viterbo

Name Department

Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest Systems

Positioning of Institute

Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest Systems (DIBAF) combines various disciplines and complementary approaches, from basic knowledge of chemistry and biology to those typical of agri-food, animal, industrial and environmental biotechnologies. In the framework of the project, our team is involved in bioinformatic analysis of NGS data, structural characterization of pathogen proteins, drug delivery through milk Extracellular Vescicle.

Work Packages

WP4 – In silico resources and ML applications; WP5 – Formulation and Delivery; WP6 – Dissemination, Patient Outreach & Sustainability; WP7 FAIR Data Management

Role

Partner

Leading Investigator

Giovanni Chillemi

Quote Leading Investigator

“We are excited to be part of the consortium and eager to apply our skills to the structural characterization of pathogens and the valorization of milk Extracellular Vescicle as an innovative drug delivery tool.”

Contact leading Person

gchillemi@unitus.it

Website

www.unitus.it/dipartimenti/dibaf/

Country

Italy

City

Siena

Name Department

Department of Medical Biotechnology

Positioning of Institute

The Department of Medical Biotechnology at the University of Siena has a long standing experience in the field of antimicrobial drugs including drug discovery and advanced lab support for clinical use of anti-infective agents.

Work Packages

WP1 – Preclinical Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry

Role

Partner

Leading Investigator

Maurizio Zazzi

Quote Leading Investigator

“Participating to the AVITHRAPID project is an excellent opportunity to test candidate broad spectrum antivirals against a number of viruses without valid treatment options. Our task is perfectly in line with the strong lab background in antiviral drug discovery. We are excited to be part of the consortium and eager to test new molecules based on the different strategies envisioned in AVITHRAPID.”

Contact leading Person

maurizio.zazzi@unisi.it

Website

www.unisi.it/dipartimenti/dipartimento-biotecnologie-mediche

Country

Italy

City

Trieste

Name Department

Protein Facility, Structural Biology Lab

Positioning of Institute

Elettra Synchrotron Trieste is a multidisciplinary research center, open to the international research community, specialized in generating high quality synchrotron and free-electron laser light to characterize structure and function of matter with sensitivity down to atomic level. The Elettra’s Protein facility applies molecular and structural biology tools to produce and characterize protein targets to support the SBDD process.

Work Packages

WP1 – Preclinical Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry; WP6 – Dissemination, Patient Outreach & Sustainability; WP7 – FAIR Data Management

Role

Partner

Leading Investigator

Paola Storici

Quote Leading Investigator

“Elettra’s research team is honored to join forces with the AVITHRAPID team. The project holds significant importance within the scientific community, aiming to advance antiviral therapies to mitigate future epidemics. We are enthusiastic about our contribution to the project, providing state-of-the-art tools for exploring protein targets and facilitating structural-based drug design for antiviral therapeutics.”

Contact leading Person

paola.storici@elettra.eu

Website

www.elettra.eu

Country

Latvia

City

Riga

Positioning of Institute

Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis

Work Packages

WP1 – Preclinical Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry; WP2 – Preclinical Development

Role

Partner

Leading Investigator

Aigars Jirgensons, Edgars Liepins

Quote Leading Investigator

“The aim of AVITHRAPID project, developing novel broad-spectrum antivirals, is in line with the strategic goal of LIOS to contribute to solving human health challenges. The consortium is a very powerful set of synergistic competences in which LIOS will bring in its expertise of medicinal chemistry and preclinical drug development. We are most excited for the collaboration opportunities that should lead to successful scientific achievements enabling the protection of society against viral diseases.”

Contact leading Person

aigars@osi.lv

Website

www.osi.lv

Country

 France

City

Tours

Name Department

Inserm U-1259

Positioning of Institute

Within the University of Tours (France), our research unit is specialized in the study of human viruses, focusing on the replication and the morphogenesis of HIV, hepatitis and emerging viruses. We also explore the impact of the genomic variability of these viruses on infection outcomes such as: pathogenesis, escape from immune response, and antiviral treatment resistance. Finally, the unit develops new original vaccine strategies and broad-spectrum antivirals.

Work Packages

WP1 – Preclinical Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry, WP2 – Preclinical Development

Role

Partner

Leading Investigator

Fabrizio Mammano

Quote Leading Investigator

“The AVITHRAPID consortium covers all the expertise required for the conception, development and validation of broad-spectrum antiviral agents. These molecules will allow to cope with current epidemics and to be prepared for future ones. We participate in this promising initiative by testing their potency on the emerging viruses that are routinely handled in our biosafety laboratory.”

Contact leading Person

fabrizio.mammano@inserm.fr

Website

https://mavivh.univ-tours.fr

Country

Italy

City

Naples

Name Department

Department of Pharmacy

Positioning of Institute

The Department of Pharmacy at UNINA has a long standing experience in the field of drug discovery and medicinal chemistry and has been nominated a Department of Excellence in 2023 on the basis of a project aiming at implementing high level pharmaceutical research and a high degree of sustainability and green synthetic methodologies. Modern medicinal chemistry laboratories are available with up-to-date facilities which guarantee the rapid and efficient synthesis of novel chemical entities. High level research in the field of antiviral agents is a crucial objective at the Department of Pharmacy.

Work Packages

WP1 – Pre-clinical discovery and medicinal chemistry; WP6 – Dissemination, Patient Outreach & Sustainability; WP7 – FAIR Data Management; WP8 – Project Management

Role

Lead Participant WP1

Leading Investigator

Vincenzo Summa

Quote Leading Investigator

“The AVITHRAPID consortium can be defined as a transdisciplinary research platform, which will guarantee, through the synergistic action of all the Partners, the development and validation of broad-spectrum antiviral agents. As the WP1 leader, UNINA will not only guarantee high-level research in the antiviral field, but also a careful and effective coordination activity in order to optimize efforts by all partners and, as a final goal, guarantee the efficient transfer of compounds and data to other WPs.”

Contact leading Person

vincenzo.summa@unina.it

Website

https://www.farmacia.unina.it

Country

Switzerland

City

Basel

Name Department

Medicine – Clinical Operations

Positioning of Institute

The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) is a world-leading institute in global health with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries. Associated with the University of Basel, Swiss TPH combines research, education and services at local, national and international levels. The Clinical Operations Unit at the Swiss TPH has extensive expertise in clinical trial service provision, with a successful track record of operating and facilitating research in resource-constraint settings for over 20 years. We understand the barriers to conducting clinical trials in difficult settings and offer strategic, customized patient centric solutions with a high level of flexibility. We appreciate the intricacies of strategic planning in these settings and aim to deliver the highest quality data for clinical trials tailored to each unique project, in particular regulatory approval, which we have done so successfully for several drugs now both at EMA and FDA level.

Work Package

WP3 – Clinical Development

Role

Partner

Leading Investigator

Elisabeth Reus

Contact leading Person

elisabeth.reus@swisstph.ch

Website

https://www.swisstph.ch/en/activities/clinical-trials

Country

Italy

City

Rome

Work Package

WP 3 – Clinical Development

Role

Lead Participant WP 3

Website

https://www.reteneuroscienze.it/Istituto/irccs-istituto-nazionale-per-le-malattie-infettive-lazzaro-spallanzani-inmi/

 

Country

Italy

City

Milan

Work Package

WP4 – In Silico Resources and Machin Learning

Role

Lead Participant WP4

Website

https://www.dompe.com

Country

Czechia

City

Ostrava-Poruba

Website

https://www.vsb.cz