Is regulation preventing the development of therapeutics that may prevent future coronavirus pandemics?

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Sheahan, Timothy P.
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Epidemiology
Baric, Ralph S.
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Epidemiology

Abstract

In the last century, hundreds of new emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) have arisen in human populations most of which originate from wild animals as zoonoses [1]. The recent surge of zoonotic EIDs in human populations is driven by a constellation of socioeconomic factors including human population growth, eroding public health infrastructures, changes in land use and agriculture and ease of global travel. HIV, Ebola virus, avian influenza (H5N1, H7N9, etc.), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) are but a few recent examples of highly virulent, zoonotic viral EIDs that have catastrophically affected global economies and public health [2]. Geopolitical flux since the 1990s and the potential for weaponizing EIDs provoked the creation of myriad policies aimed at protecting the USA from bioterrorist threats and the accidental release of potential pandemic pathogens from laboratories. Are these policies effective? Are they impacting countermeasure development for current and future EIDs? How are they shaping the direction of individual research programs, the recruitment of new investigators and the stability of impacted fields? Below, we discuss our experiences in developing therapeutics against SARS-, MERS- and zoonotic CoV in an ever changing regulatory environment.

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2020-03-25

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