“In an bid to help speed up the development of potential treatment options and a vaccine for COVID-19, the National Institutes of Health on Friday announced a new public-private research partnership.”
“The new initiative will be spearheaded by the NIH but also include the Food and Drug Administration, other parts of the federal government and a list of 16 companies that includes some of the biggest players in the pharmaceutical industry. Among the companies participating in the effort are Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Merck.”
“‘We need to have all hands on deck from every sector to speed up the process of identifying those treatments that are going to work and to get the vaccines also developed, tested, to make sure they’re safe and effective in the maximum possible speed,’ said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, in an interview with NPR’s All Things Considered.”
“The announcement comes after President Trump and public health officials on Thursday unveiled new guidelines for states to begin reopening the country. Health experts say that in order to safely do that, there needs to be more testing, contact tracing and better drugs to treat COVID-19. Ultimately, for things to truly return to normal, an effective vaccine is needed…” Listen to the full interview here.
Source: NIH Launches Effort To Speed Up Development Of COVID-19 Treatments – By Maureen Pao, April 17, 2020. National Public Radio.
