Striving for pandemic preparedness

The SPP-ARC logo.

How do you prepare for something you know will happen, but you don’t know when, or what, exactly, you will be dealing with? This question isn’t a riddle or brain-teaser; it’s a challenge being tackled by a group of University of Alberta scientists: Striving for Pandemic Preparedness - The Alberta Research Consortium (SPP-ARC).

Formed in 2022, SPP-ARC is a pandemic preparedness program comprised of a team of nearly 30 U of A scientists, led by co-directors Matthias Götte and Lorne Tyrell. Established with a $55.1-million grant awarded to the U of A by the Government of Alberta, the mission of SPP-ARC is to discover, develop and assess vaccines and small molecule therapeutics for better protection against emerging pathogens. 

“Pandemic preparedness is a difficult research field. New viruses and the timing of their emergence are unpredictable by nature,” says Götte. “Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the university had important infrastructure in place as well as expert scientists that facilitated a rapid response in some areas. However, we all realize that we need to do better next time.” 

Connecting the experts

On Nov. 16 and 17, SPP-ARC hosted the Ignites Innovation retreat — the first of what will become an annual event. Nearly 100 senior and trainee scientists from the U of A and invited guests from universities across North America met for two days of knowledge sharing, team work and learning about the latest developments in vaccinology and antiviral drugs.  

“It takes a village to prepare for a pandemic. We need experts in virology, immunology, chemistry, biochemistry and infectious diseases among others,” Götte says.

The goal of the retreat was to form strong teams to tackle the complex problems that accompany the study and development of vaccines and antiviral drugs. Successfully tackling these problems means putting potential medicines into clinical trials as soon as possible when the next pandemic hits. “We are aiming for a sustainable effort in pandemic preparedness and this requires innovative research, cutting-edge infrastructure as well as highly qualified scientists and trainees,” he says.     

The retreat was a success and an important step in SPP-ARC achieving its goals, but it isn’t the end of learning and collaborating for this team. Since 2022, the consortium has been offering seminars for trainees and knowledge translation workshops as part of a comprehensive training program aimed at shifting from preparedness into rapid responses. “We’re focusing our work on families of viruses associated with high pandemic potential,” says Götte. “The usual suspects are coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2, influenza viruses, and respiratory syncytial viruse (RSV); these are close relatives of viruses that could cause the next pandemic.”   

Training and sharing are important parts of SPP-ARC’s unique preparation for rapidly responding to emerging threats. “The concept is based on a pipeline approach,” explains Götte, “beginning with the design and discovery of medical countermeasures and ending with full-finish manufacturing of drugs and/or vaccines in vials that are ready for clinical use,” Götte believes these activities are vital to both mitigating the impact of the next pandemic and rebuilding a strong biomedical research and technology community.

The right people and the right place

Götte considers the successful recruitment of Kalyan Das, a Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Antiviral Drug Design, to the U of A to be a highlight of SPP-ARC efforts thus far. Das will bring essential expertise in cryogenic electron microscope (Cryo-EM) to the U of A. “This technology allows us to obtain high-resolution pictures of important structural details of viruses that are relevant to the development of antiviral drugs and vaccines. These pictures can be obtained in a relatively short period of time, which is critical for rapid responses in a pandemic,” says Götte.

Thanks to additional funding the consortium secured following the government grant, SPP-ARC is building a Cryo-EM facility and provides additional resources to support the design and manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics. “Getting this facility up and running by the summer of 2024 is top priority for the SPP-ARC team.”

With construction underway and the right people and plans in place, Götte is optimistic about progress SPP-ARC has made and he’s confident SPP-ARC will make the U of A a leader in the response to the next global outbreak. “Our scientific advisory board is comprised of internationally recognized experts in the field,” says Götte. SPP-ARC investigators collaborate with scientists around the world to build trust and strong partnerships that will help us in the next pandemic. Global problems require global solutions.”

To learn more about Striving for Pandemic Preparedness - Alberta Research Consortium, visit the SPP-ARC website.