COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral research
Our work is a critical part of the rapid global response to COVID-19. Our efforts have been helping promising vaccine candidates to progress to human trials.
Understanding the SARS-CoV-2 virus
The more we know about COVID-19, the better equipped we are to fight the pandemic. From understanding how the virus is mutating to how long it survives, our researchers are working to improve our knowledge of COVID-19 and the virus that causes it.
Keeping track of COVID-19
Supporting Australia's pandemic response
Our global response
We are working closely within international consortia – The Biosafety Level 4 Zoonotic Laboratory Network (BSL4ZNet) and European Virus Archive - GLOBAL (EVAg) – to share information on activity, best practice and reagents and materials, including SARS CoV-2 viruses. This will ensure we do not compete or duplicate our research and development efforts.
We have established a partnership with the Peter Doherty Institute to test candidate antiviral compounds from international manufacturers. We have represented Australia in a World Health Organisation meeting on COVID-19. We are in dialogue with several international consortia in establishing novel diagnostic capability.
We have received funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global group that aims to speed up the development of vaccines and cut short the COVID-19 pandemic. With this funding, we undertook pre-clinical testing of two candidate vaccines.