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Eight immediate research actions were agreed as part of the WHO Global Research Forum
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1. Mobilize research on rapid point of care diagnostics for use at the community level - this is critical to be able to quickly identify sick people, treat them and better estimate how widely the virus has spread
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2. Immediately assess available data to learn what standard of care approaches from China and elsewhere are the most effective – there is an Imperative to optimize standard of care given to patients at different stages of the disease and take advantage of all available technological innovations to improve survival
and recovery.
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3. Evaluate as fast as possible the effect of adjunctive and supportive therapies. The global research community needs to understand what other adjunctive treatments being used we have at our disposal that may help with the standard of care provided to patients, including the quick evaluation of interventions such as steroids and high flow oxygen.
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4. Optimize use of personal protective equipment and other infection prevention and control measures in health care and community settings – It is critical to protect health care workers and the community from transmission and create a safe working environment.
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 5. Review all evidence available to identify animal host(s), to prevent continued spill over and to better understand the virus transmissibility in different contexts over time, the severity of disease and who is more susceptible to infection- Understanding transmission dynamics would help us appreciate the full spectrum of the disease, in terms of at risk groups, and conditions that make the disease more severe as well as the effectiveness of certain public health interventions.
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6. Accelerate the evaluation of investigational therapeutics and vaccines by using “Master Protocols”. Rapidly developing master protocols for clinical trials will accelerate the potential to assess what works and what does not, improve collaboration and comparison across different studies, streamline ethics review and optimize the evaluation of new investigational drugs, vaccines and diagnostics.
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7. Maintain a high degree of communication and interaction among funders so that critical research is implemented. Funders reiterated their current financial commitments to tackling this outbreak and agreed that the priorities agreed at the Forum would help to coordinate existing investments and inform mobilization of additional resources in the coming days, weeks and months.
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8. Broadly and rapidly share virus materials, clinical samples and data for immediate public health purposes – It was agreed that virus materials, clinical samples and associated data should be rapidly shared for immediate public health purposes and that fair and equitable access to any medical products or innovations that are developed usi8.
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Timeline for implementation of selected research actions
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Thematic research AreaExpected Completion MonthActivity Description
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Clinical managementMarch 2020Agree core clinical outcomes to be reported to WHO from all clinical datasets.
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Ethics considerations for researchMarch 2020Four brief papers on key explanations of ethical values for COVID-19 (equity, solidarity, trust, vulnerability).
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Virus natural history, transmission and diagnosticsMarch 2020Virus natural history, transmission and diagnostics
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Virus natural history, transmission and diagnosticsMarch 2020Establish appropriate controls and EQA systems.
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Candidate therapeuticsMarch 2020Candidate therapeutics identified for clinical studies
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Candidate therapeuticsMarch 2020Master Protocol for prophylaxis is available
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Candidate vaccinesMarch 2020Prioritization criteria for vaccine evaluation.
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Candidate vaccinesMarch 2020Trial design synopsis for vaccine evaluation
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Ethics considerations for researchMarch 2020Trial design synopsis for vaccine evaluation.
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Candidate therapeuticsMarch 2020Repository of data from in vitro/in vivo testing available to refine work of global community assumes continuous updates.
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Epidemiological studiesMarch 2020Modeling studies to consider measures to protect HCWs and other critical societal functions.
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Clinical managementMarch 2020Preliminary data collection on aerosolization with high flow O2.
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Clinical managementMarch 2020RCTs for steroids and high flow O2 – initiation
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Epidemiological studiesMarch 2020Cohort studies to clarify pre-symptomatic/ asymptomatic transmission.
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Epidemiological studiesMarch 2020
Retrospective review of hospital admissions to identify risk factors for severe disease.
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Candidate vaccinesMarch 2020
Animal models for both efficacy and disease enhancement-landscape and way forward.
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Clinical managementApril 2020Observational cohorts with viral sampling to better understand pathophysiology, risk factors for severe disease, shedding, explore best options for triage processes, and optimal specimen sampling strategies.
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Virus natural history, transmission and diagnosticsApril 2020Development and validation of kits meeting TPPs.
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Candidate therapeuticsApril 2020Prioritized potential combinations identified.
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Candidate therapeuticsApril 2020In vitro and In vivo combination testing data are available.
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Candidate vaccinesApril 2020Assay development and validation required for vaccine R&D.
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Candidate vaccinesApril 2020Vaccine Phase 2b/3 Master Protocol.
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Ethics considerations for researchApril 2020Vaccine Phase 2b/3 Master Protocol
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