March 11, 2021 – Abbott (Abbott Park, IL) announced the formation of the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition, a first-of-its-kind global scientific and public health partnership dedicated to the early detection of, and rapid response to, future pandemic threats.
The program will identify new pathogens, analyze potential risk level, rapidly develop and deploy new diagnostic testing and assess public health impact in real time by connecting global centers of excellence in laboratory testing, genetic sequencing and public health research.
The coalition is designed to help the global scientific and health community identify new viral threats, take quick action when one is discovered, and help prevent future pandemics. The sequences of the viruses that are found will be published in a public database so that health officials and laboratories can work together to identify if it’s a novel strain, or a virus that has previously been detected.
Abbott is playing an important role in helping to monitor for new variants or mutations to the virus that causes COVID-19. The company is collecting virus samples from around the world and looking for any changes (mutations) to the virus’s genetic sequencing.
Abbott specifically designs its tests, including COVID-19 tests, with viral evolution in mind. As new strains are discovered, Abbott vigorously analyzes them so it can ensure its diagnostic tests can detect them.
The coalition provides the network to collaborate with other leading institutions on this effort.
Abbott’s growing network of partners includes organizations in strategic geographic locations:
- Colombia/Wisconsin One-Health Consortium at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin, Colombia
- Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Institut de Recherche en Santé, de Surveillance Epidémiologique et de Formations (IRESSEF), Dakar, Senegal
- KRISP, Genomic Centre of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Rush University System for Health, Chicago, U.S.
- The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica
- Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- YRG Care, Chennai, India
Looking ahead, Abbott will focus on testing and digital solutions accessible to more people in more places for many of the world’s most pressing health challenges, including infectious diseases. This is an important part of Abbott’s 2030 sustainability strategy which includes a focus on transforming the care of infectious diseases. Across its business and through collaboration, Abbott will create new technologies to detect and monitor infectious diseases such as COVID-19, HIV, malaria and hepatitis, as well as tomorrow’s pandemic threats.