Genomic sequencing allowed the world to track new coronavirus variants throughout the pandemic. Now British researchers plan to use it to better understand a
host of other respiratory pathogens, from influenza to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The work is aimed at shedding more light on known threats and, potentially, emerging ones, the team at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, working with the UK Health
Security Agency, said.
The world has never had access to the kind of real-time information for these viruses that scientists obtained on SARS-CoV-2 through sequencing millions of genomes,
Ewan Harrison, head of the new Respiratory Virus and Microbiome Initiative, told reporters on Monday.
That includes granular detail on how they transmit as well as how they evolve in the face of the human immune response.
"We hope that by expanding our ability to sequence these viruses routinely, we can build upon the work that's going on COVID, and hopefully supercharge research
efforts to understand the transmission of these viruses, but also to help develop new treatments and vaccines," Harrison said.
In a significant move to address health disparities and enhance clinical research, community pharmacies across several regions are set to become central
players in the Genes and Health study.
Led by Queen Mary University of London and funded by the Wellcome Trust, this national initiative aims to improve health outcomes within British-Bangladeshi
and British-Pakistani communities.
Professor Mahendra Patel, Director of the Centre for Research Equity at the University of Oxford, highlighted the importance of this approach.
"By engaging the broader pharmacy workforce, including technicians, we aim to establish a research-ready infrastructure within community pharmacies," Patel
told Pharmacy Business.
He shared that the initiative marks a transformative step in integrating pharmacies into the clinical research landscape.
The Thames Valley and South Midlands Clinical Research Network (CRN) is managing a pioneering pilot program for this study, which will initially focus on
pharmacies in Banbury, Oxford City, Reading, Slough, High Wycombe, and Aylesbury.
There is big gap between the healthcare facilities provided by the developing nations and developed nations. Vaccination programs help developing countries, defend deadliest of diseases. Hilleman Labs, a partner of Merck & Co. and Wellcome Trust
