Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EVA-GLOBAL (European Virus Archive GLOBAL)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-07-01 al 2022-12-31
EVA-G gathers 43 laboratories at the forefront of human, animal and plant research in Virology, associated with Non-Governmental Organisations including WHO or OIE. EVA-G objectives intend to meet the needs of scientists worldwide by generating an authenticated virus collection that complies with approved scientific, quality, ethical, safety and security standards. The EVA-G consortium aims at becoming the most responsive network to improve the control of (re-) emerging virus outbreaks. The consortium will mobilize scientists rapidly by developing and supplying solutions to emergency situation involving human, veterinary or plant pathogens, through the efficiency of its technical and logistics platforms.
In RP1 the collection of infectious material increased by 10% with 66% of strains at high quality grades. 11 EVA-G partners added 36 SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the original strains isolated in Europe. These were distributed >500 times to end-users from academia and industry, making EVA-G the central hub for the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 reference material for the international research community to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. The consortium’s derived product production platforms responded to the demand for development of non-infectious material, enriching the EVA-G catalogue and strengthening the response to SARS-CoV-2 emergence. The collection of derived material is made of 1 107 items, including 104 derived products added in RP1. Overall, EVA-G partners added diagnostic material to the online catalogue within 15 days after the announcement of the discovery of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus. Within the first 3 months of the pandemic, EVA-G distributed more than 2 600 products in 114 countries. 4 385 accesses were sponsored by the EC in 18 months, 4 190 of which were related to SARS-CoV-2. The consortium was able to develop and distribute within weeks more than 200 000 SARS-CoV-2 detection assays, serving as reference for health agencies, and surrogate detection kits for countries lacking access to commercial tests. Throughout RP2, new SARS-CoV2 variants were added, now constituting one of the largest collections in the world. The number and quality of available strains further increased. Partners established and provided state-of-the-art reverse genetics systems to study RG4 virus replication and gene expression. Non-infectious life cycle modelling systems, not requiring BSL-4 conditions, meet the needs of researchers who do not have access to such facilities. Partners also contributed to enhanced preparedness and response to Covid-19, Ebola and Marburg virus disease outbreaks by developing and deploying field applicable sequencing units to Sub-Saharan Africa. Partners involved in uncultivable viruses worked on the identification, sequencing, and isolation of viruses to make them available for research. A broad spectrum of validated reference material covering many other virus families was added to the catalogue. In July 2022, a Monkeypox virus outbreak was declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, by WHO, and EVA-G partners distributed 233 products to 47 countries worldwide. Plant viruses were added to the catalogue, with the first 50 Trans-National Accesses milestone achieved in RP2. New end-users from the industrial field now represent more than 35% of our orders and 13 companies are members of our Industrial Platform. EVA-G established a set of quality guidelines and offered support through workshops, the development of a self-assessment tool for the EVA-G partners’ Quality Systems (for ISO17034:2016 compliance and the ISO20387:2018 biobanking Standard) and proficiency testing in individual laboratories. The implementation of the Nagoya Protocol compliance strategy exceeded the initial goals with 93% of the items in the EVA-G catalogue now having information on country of origin and date of collection. EVA-G members have been engaging with several key science-policy fora to give advice on issues such as the importance of biobanking during public health emergencies or the use and policy implications of digital sequence information in the Convention on BioDiversity/Nagoya Protocol negotiations. Finally, informative material (such as an introductory video) and a ‘help desk’ to foster compliance, has been made available to EVA-G partners to facilitate this task. In conclusion, EVA-G has proven to be a main actor for the distribution of reference material in response to pandemics. Despite unforeseen circumstances, the consortium initiated tasks with major achievements contributing to the improvement of the collection and its distribution worldwide.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the decisive role of the EVA-G consortium for pandemic preparedness and response; concerted actions, facilitated by enhanced management and logistics procedures, enabled the rapid and large-scale worldwide distribution of reference materials (viral detection assays and controls) for SARS-CoV-2 detection. The number of cultivable virus strains increased by 25% and the quality rate drastically improved (60% of resources are Platinum grade). Derived materials and novel technologies provide new resources to the scientific community. In order to optimize the development of SARS-CoV-2 infectious and non-infectious material a dedicated WP(10) was created. By RP2, 835 SARS-CoV-2 orders were completed and the collection is updated with the circulating variants. EVA-G progressed with the development of experimental systems for RG4 viruses, including replication competent viruses, surrogate viruses and virus-like non-replicative systems for cell biology experimentation and screening of antivirals. Mobile sequencing technologies, under the WHO umbrella, of have contributed to rapid containment of the 2021 Ebola and Marburg virus disease outbreaks in Guinea. These technologies will contribute to global efforts to rapidly develop therapeutics for RG4 pathogens and to the global surveillance of emerging pathogens. For expanding the collection of uncultivable viruses and complex samples, several animal and plant viruses were archived, and more are under investigation. Key points to be considered are the ethical aspects of harmonization of cross-country sampling and the supply and de-individualization of human-derived materials. Individual measurement of QMS implementation and optimisation, using the dedicated online tool, allows continuous consolidation of partner’s progress in a shared dashboard. These outputs are added to the results of the audits. EVA-G partners are encouraged to progress towards international standards ISO 20387:2018 and ISO 17034:2016. The Nagoya Protocol compliance strategy improved the transparency and legal clarity of the EVA-G catalogue. An article on EVA-G as a case study for access and benefit sharing (ABS) practices during the COVID-19 pandemic and alternative multilateral pathogen ABS mechanisms was published in 2021. EVA-G has clearly demonstrated its contribution to the scientific community and to public health, through the number of TNA distributed. Most importantly, EVA-G has a role in the supply of reference material for Health-tech companies developing therapeutics or diagnostic kits. During the Monkeypox outbreak, 73% of the total number of products distributed, were provided 3 months before the WHO announcement, indicating EVA-G is an established and trustworthy structure for sourcing pandemic material.