Taiwanese and Australian university researchers are to collaborate on developing new drugs for potential use against various viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, the Ministry of Science and Technology said on Thursday.
In a videoconference on Thursday last week, researchers from Australia’s Monash University and Taiwan’s Chang Gung University expressed a strong desire to embark on a study, and reached an agreement on the areas in which they would cooperate, the ministry said.
Under the agreement, Chang Gung University is to provide strains of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses, while Monash University is to study the effectiveness of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, the ministry said, adding that the research would be carried out in Taiwanese laboratories.
The collaboration is to focus on identifying novel therapeutic drugs that target COVID-19, before being expanded to study their effectiveness against other viruses, such as influenza, HIV, dengue fever and Zika, the ministry said.
The two universities have agreed to sign a cooperation and nondisclosure agreement, after which they would embark on the study, it said.
The research agreement, which could lead to the development of a drug for COVID-19, was initiated by the ministry after it learned of Australian studies that showed ivermectin eliminating SARS-CoV-2 in cells within 48 hours in a laboratory setting.
The studies were conducted by Monash University’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute and the University of Melbourne’s Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, with the former releasing the findings on April 3.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia approached the universities to propose further research in collaboration with Chang Gung University, said Shih Shin-ru (施信如), director of the university’s Research Center for Emerging Viral Infections, who is to serve as project manager in Taiwan.
Established in 2009, the university research center has played a leading role in the nation’s response to diseases such as SARS and influenza subtype H1N1, as well as studying their effects on the economy and society.
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