Posted: 16 July 2024
Monash University researchers will develop a first of its kind inhaler device to conveniently treat respiratory viruses, while University of York researchers will screen 200 animal viruses to assess human pandemic risk and inform proactive treatment development in just two of the pioneering projects set to receive funding from the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics (Cumming Global Centre).
Ten project teams will receive a collective AU$5 million to develop novel therapeutics for pathogens of pandemic potential in the second and final round of the Cumming Global Centre’s inaugural Foundation Grants program. This follows AU$17 million that was awarded in Round One earlier this year, bringing the Centre’s total investment in innovative research to AU$22 million to date.
With Round Two open to applicants worldwide for the first time, the Cumming Global Centre will fund its first two international projects from the University of Oxford and the University of York.
Round Two brings the Cumming Global Centre’s projects to 32, with 150 researchers all working to uncover the latest technologies to deliver new therapeutics at speed. The international network comprises lead investigators from Australia and the UK, as well as co-investigators from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, China and Singapore.
Inaugural Director of the Cumming Global Centre and the Doherty Institute, Melbourne Laureate Professor Sharon Lewin, congratulated the recipients and welcomed them to the expanding global Centre.
“Effective and timely delivery of therapeutics has the potential to transform how the next pandemic is managed. They help to reduce the progression of infection to disease, reduce disease severity and also reduce transmission of infection and fill the gap if a vaccine is unavailable,” said Professor Lewin.
“It is incredibly exciting to fund a further ten projects through the Cumming Global Centre, especially across Australia and international borders. A coordinated global approach is the only way to tackle a challenge of this scale.”
There was significant international interest in this second and final round of foundational funding. Even so, many of the projects receiving funding are Australian-led, including from Victorian-based Institutions Monash University, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, and the CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong.
Minister for Medical Research Ben Carroll said these grants are a testament to the world-leading medical research coming out of Victoria.
“More than half of the grant funding has been awarded to Victorian-based projects after a globally competitive process. This is truly a testament to the hard work and collaboration of our local medical researchers.”
Launched in August 2022, the Doherty Institute’s Cumming Global Centre was made possible by the exceptional generosity of international businessman and philanthropist, Mr Geoffrey Cumming, who donated $250 million to establish the Centre. The Victorian Government joined as a main supporting partner, initially committing $75 million in recognition of the critical need to advance the science behind therapeutics. The Ian Potter Foundation has committed $5 million.
