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Q&A with Michael Makanga on Covid-19 and EDCTP

Clinical trials partnership head says networks are being mobilised to fight new virus

Last week the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership launched a funding call for Covid-19 research targeting sub-Saharan Africa. Research Professional interviews executive director Michael Makanga about the response the partnership is mounting to assist Africa’s fight against the novel coronavirus. 

RP: Where are you at the moment, and how are things there?

MM: I’m in the Hague in the Netherlands. I have been working from home since 15 March. The supermarkets remain open but all the other public places are closed, including restaurants. We are able to go out for walks but all movement has to be purposeful and maintain physical distance from each other. It’s really controlled. 

Last week EDCTP released new funding to tackle Covid-19. How has the partnership prepared partner countries for this kind of health emergency?

The EDCTP programme has been running for 17 years. The first programme only covered three diseases—malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. For the second programme we added other neglected tropical diseases on the priority list of the World Health Organization, as well as diarrhoea and lower respiratory tract diseases. But as we were implementing the second programme the Ebola outbreak hit West Africa. So we added to our scope emerging and re-emerging diseases of epidemic potential, supported a couple of Ebola projects and established two consortia for epidemic preparedness. One is the African CoaLition for Epidemic Research, Response and Training (ALERRT), the other the Pan-African Network for Rapid Research, Response, Relief and Preparedness for Infectious Diseases Epidemics (PANDORA-ID-NET). The idea was to get prepared during the peaceful time so that when outbreaks come they are able to respond. 

Have those consortia been involved in the Covid-19 response so far? 

Yes, and so have our regional networks of excellence funded through other mechanisms. The problem is that they have limited resources. A number of the clinical research centres that participated in EDCTP-funded research have also been approached by, for instance, the World Health Organization and partner organisations to get involved in global studies on Covid-19. In that case, existing capacity on other ailments is being deployed to make a contribution to the current outbreak. 

How is the Covid-19 pandemic affecting EDCTP-funded activities on other diseases?

Some studies are likely to be disrupted because of lockdowns. In some countries, doctors and nurses working on studies may be requested temporarily to be part of the outbreak response, although so far we have not seen this for many African countries. In South Africa a number of research centres have had to stop recruitment because patients and healthy volunteers cannot come for follow-up. In that case, there is a disruption, although some clinical research sites are able to use telemedicine to follow up on existing patients who are evaluating investigational or reformulated products. 

What led you to launch the new Covid-19 research call? 

The reason we are getting involved is that we know that Covid-19 will have a big impact on sub-Saharan Africa. There is a need to evaluate proposed Covid-19 drugs in African settings, where some of the medical products being tested are already being used for other diseases such as malaria. We also need to evaluate new Covid-19 diagnostic technologies in resource-limited settings. 

Where does the money come from?

Given that we had not anticipated Covid-19 we are trying to mobilise all our partner countries, especially in Europe, to co-fund this call. We have some money from the European Union and some co-funding from the member states. It may not be a big basket but it’s something concrete to build on. 

Are you planning to launch more calls for proposals?

We are going to launch a call for renewed funding for our centres of excellence, and we hope that Covid-19 will be accommodated in addition to their other activities. That will help us understand the interaction of Covid-19 with other diseases in our remit in the medium- and long-term. We are also planning a joint call with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to train more than 100 epidemiologists from the continent. We were already planning to do it later in the year, but because of the outbreak we have moved it up, and we hope to issue that call on 10 April.