EU active in the fight against killer viruses
A new EU project to address the increasing resistance of some viruses to drugs was launched in Lyon, France, on 28 June. Some viruses' growing resistance to drugs indicates that certain diseases are becoming increasingly difficult to treat. The European Commission is therefore providing nine million euro to the 'Vigilance against Viral Resistance' (VIRGIL) project, coordinated by the French Institute for health and medical research, INSERM. The project brings together European experts from 12 countries. 'The heavy use of antibiotics, particularly in hospitals, hastens mutations in bacteria which bring about drug resistance. The same happens in viruses when antiviral drugs are used extensively,' said European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin. 'VIRGIL complements a 30 million euro EU research investment into antimicrobial drug resistance over the past two years to address this growing problem. Through collaboration between European academic researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, clinicians and public health authorities the network will help overcome problems associated with viral drug resistance to help save lives.' Initially, the project will look into drug resistance to three major diseases, namely hepatitis B and C and influenza, with the aim of broadening its scope later down the line. The project will be built around seven 'research and technological platforms' that will 'monitor existing, and anticipate future, drug resistance,' explains the European Commission. The interacting platforms, all centred around the patients, will exhaustively cover the issue of virus resistance to antiviral drugs. Two platforms will conduct testing and monitoring of antiviral drug resistance in patients with the aim of improving and standardising the management of viral resistance on a global level. Other platforms will aim at explaining the reason behind the increasing drug resistance, focusing particularly on patient-related factors behind this resistance. Issues of drugs, pharmacology, innovation and technology will also be looked into so as to anticipate ways to beat drug resistance. A 'societal' platform will also investigate the benefits of the project on patients' quality of life. Research shows that viral hepatitis, which is the cause of chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer, is now at the stage where over 350 million people around the world are now chronically infected with Hepatitis B. 'For hepatitis C, no vaccine exists and over one per cent of Europeans are carriers. Intensive clinical use of the few available drugs has led to rapidly emerging drug resistance for some viruses so that these drugs are no longer efficient,' says the Commission. New strains of influenza cause up to 500,000 deaths every year around the world. Furthermore, scientists are worried that genetic changes in the virus may give rise to pandemics killing millions of people. If this happened, efficient drugs would be essential. The VIRGIL network is therefore set to address these challenges, and in close collaboration with industry, will 'help to ensure longer access to treatment and cure for the patients. This will help contain the socio-economic burden of viral resistance, now representing a major health problem with higher health care and drug development costs,' concludes the Commission.