BATAVIA BIOSCIENCES
Batavia Biosciences significantly contributes to ease human suffering from infectious diseases and cancer by improving the success rate in the translation of candidate medicines from discovery to the clinic. We offer our innovative technologies and in-depth know-how in order to help our partners complete preclinical phases in biopharmaceutical product development at higher speed, reduced costs and increased success. The company focuses on the early stages of product development including cell line generation, upstream process development, purification development, product characterization and clinical manufacturing. Headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands, with a subsidiary in Woburn, Massachusetts, and offices in Hong Kong, Batavia Biosciences is privileged to have strong strategic partners worldwide.
Role in LEAP4WA: Batavia Biosciences will leverage its highly intensified manufacturing platform, HIP-Vax®, to accelerate the production of clinical trial material and allow for low-cost manufacturing of the product.
EPICENTRE
Epicentre is a non-profit organization created in 1986 by and affiliated to Médecins Sans Frontières, which groups health professionals specialized in public health and epidemiology. Epicentre teams carry out research studies and offer their expertise to organizations requesting short-term field epidemiology studies in low- and middle-income countries. Responding to the direct and indirect effects of chronic and acute crises as well as lack of access to health care in vulnerable populations through effective programs is a complex task that requires multiple competencies — all of which happen in an unpredictable environment. There is frequently a lack of reliable data on disease burden and population demographics. Even where relevant data are present, the breakdown of health systems often means there is little access to these data for relevant analyses. Drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and their programmatic delivery strategies are often woefully inadequate for vulnerable populations when transposed from rich country settings. Epicentre Research Department’s mission is to describe the health status of populations – to help prioritize activities – and to evaluate existing & new tools, strategies, and pharmaceutical products.
Role in LEAP4WA: Data Management and Analysis
HJF MEDICAL RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL
HJFMRI Ltd/Gte works in partnership with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) to develop tools to prevent, diagnose and treat HIV and emerging infectious diseases in Nigeria. The LEAP4WA trial sites in Nigeria will include WRAIR’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch-supported Clinical Research Center (CRC) in Abuja, as well as partner sites in Owo and Abakaliki through a collaboration with the Africa Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID). These sites have been participating in EIDB Lassa epidemiology studies in preparation for vaccine development studies. The CRC is supported by HJFMRI and the Nigerian Ministry of Defence (NMOD). HJFMRI Ltd/Gte was registered in Nigeria in 2006.
IAVI
IAVI is a nonprofit scientific research organization that develops vaccines and antibodies for HIV, tuberculosis, emerging infectious diseases (including COVID-19), and neglected diseases such as snakebite. Our mission is to translate scientific discoveries into affordable, globally accessible public health solutions.
Role in LEAP4WA: Consortium lead. IAVI’s Human Immunology Laboratory at Imperial College London will validate the key assays needed to measure immune responses in clinical trials and support technology transfer of these assays to the participating clinical research center partners in West Africa. Much of the research and development of the vaccine candidate is performed at the IAVI Vaccine Design and Development Lab (DDL) in Brooklyn, New York. The rVSV platform technology is also being used in IAVI’s emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) vaccine development portfolio, which focuses on EIDS that are epidemic threats and have potential to be used for bioweapons.
IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON
Imperial College London is a global top ten university with a world-class reputation in science, engineering, business and medicine. Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial is committed to developing the next generation of researchers, scientists and academics through collaboration across disciplines. Located in the heart of London, Imperial is a multidisciplinary space for education, research, translation and commercialisation, harnessing science and innovation to tackle global challenges.
KENEMA GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL, SIERRA LEONE
The Kenema Government Hospital (KGH) is located 300km east of Freetown, in Kenema, Eastern Province, Sierra Leone. KGH is located in an area with the highest incidence of Lassa Fever in the world and has played a crucial role in the advancement of Lassa Fever research. The current program consists of medical staff, outreach, ecology, research, and administrative teams led by Dr. Donald Grant.
Role within LEAP4WA: Clinical and Research site
PARTNERSHIP FOR RESEARCH ON EBOLA VIRUS IN LIBERIA (PREVAIL)
During the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in Liberia, collaborations between the Liberian government and international partners formed the Liberia-U.S. Partnership for Research on Ebola Virus in Liberia (PREVAIL) was formed to conduct clinical research on Ebola therapeutics and vaccines. The PREVAIL partnership developed a sustainable research infrastructure for emergency response and research on diseases of public health importance in Liberia. PREVAIL consists of the essential core clinical research resources to include: clinical research trained staff, 4 clinical research sites, clinical and research laboratories and biospecimen storage areas, pharmacy operations and administrative research operations. PREVAIL has a portfolio for research studies, from observational studies on Ebola, SARS Co-V 2, HIV, and Malaria, to phase 2 and 3 studies for safety and efficacy for Ebola vaccines and treatments.
TULANE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH & TROPICAL MEDICINE
Tulane University is a private Research University located in New Orleans Louisiana. The University was founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834, partly as a response to the fears of infectious diseases such as yellow fever and cholera. It became a comprehensive university in 1847. Tulane University Health Sciences Center (TUHSC) is academically and administratively affiliated with Tulane University. It is located in downtown New Orleans. TUHSC is comprised of a Medical School, School of Public Health, Hospital and Clinic, Tulane National Primate Research Center, and other research centers. Infectious disease research is a major focus of TUHSC.
WALTER REED ARMY INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH (WRAIR)
Leveraging more than 125 years of experience, state-of-the-art facilities, and a sustainable international network of partners, WRAIR has helped developed many of the vaccines and drugs in use today by military and civilian medicine around the globe. WRAIR is uniquely positioned to prepare for and rapidly respond to the intensifying onslaught of emerging infectious diseases that impacts global health and security, and it established EIDB in 2018. One of EIDB’s focus areas is on developing a vaccine for Lassa, and the team conducted studies in Southern Nigeria to provide information on the clinical course, immune response and transmission dynamics of the virus. Another study is determining the prevalence of Lassa fever virus in Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria, and identify related risk factors.
Role in LEAP4WA: Collaborating with partner sites in Nigeria who are conducting the vaccine clinical trial