Virus collection advances
Starting in RP1 with 66% of strains belonging to highest grades, the EVA-G virus collection has increased in quality throughout the project. 11 partners added 36 SARS-CoV-2 variants, helping the international research community mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 strains were distributed >500 times to academic and industrial end-users. Over RP2 and RP3, alternative culturing systems were developed increasing the diversity of the collection. Partners established and provided state-of-the-art reverse genetics systems for studying RG3 and RG4 virus replication and gene expression. Non-infectious life cycle modelling systems, not requiring BSL-4 conditions, facilitate the work of researchers with no such infrastructure. Partners contributed to enhanced preparedness and response to Covid-19, Ebola and Marburg virus disease outbreaks by developing field applicable sequencing units to Sub-Saharan Africa. The sub-collection of “uncultivable viruses” includes human, animal, aquatic and plant viruses and a pilot study on patient sample de-individualisation was initiated. The EVA platforms for derived product production reacted to the demand for non-infectious material, enriching the EVA catalogue and strengthening the response to SARS-CoV-2 emergence. During RP1, EVA partners added diagnostic material to the catalogue within 15 days of the SARS-CoV-2 identification. In 3 months EVA-G responded to over 2600 requests and distributed material in 114 countries. 4385 accesses were sponsored by the EC in 18 months, mostly on SARS-CoV-2. The consortium developed and distributed within weeks more than 200000 SARS-CoV-2 detection assays, serving as reference for health agencies and biotech. The EVA SARS-CoV-2 variant collection is now one of the largest in the world. In RP3, arbovirus detection tools, including controls and non-infectious material, were rapidly developed and distributed to the scientific community worldwide, in response to outbreaks in West Africa (Dengue), south-America (Oropouche) and Europe (West-Nile). The collection of derived material is now composed of 1447 items. MPOX outbreaks (2022 and 2024) declared as PHEIC by WHO, were handled by EVA partners, even in the absence of TNA at the final months of the project, with 233 products distributed to 47 countries. EVA-G was the first to distribute the latest MPOX Clade 1b variant worldwide. The plant virus catalogue was fully implemented by the end of RP3. New end-users from the industrial field represent over 35% of orders and the Industrial platform counts 20 members (end of RP3).
Regulatory advances
EVA-G established guidelines, provided workshops and a self-assessment tool for the EVA Quality Systems for ISO17034:2016 compliance and the ISO20387:2018 biobanking Standard. Support for QA was provided by proficiency testing in individual laboratories. The implementation of the Nagoya Protocol compliance strategy exceeded the initial goals with 93% of the EVA catalogue now having information on country of origin and date of collection. EVA-G members engaged with key science-policy forums to advise on the importance of biobanking during public health emergencies and the policy implications of digital sequence information on research, in the Convention on BioDiversity/Nagoya Protocol negotiations. An introductory video and compliance ‘help desk’ are available to EVA partners. Two awareness-raising workshops on DURC issues were offered to researchers in 2023. Guidelines for EVA partners on how to address dual-use risks are available on the EVA website.
EVA-G is a reference for viral resource distribution in Public Health emergencies and, despite adverse circumstances, achieved major contributions towards improving the collection and distributing it worldwide.
