by Dr. Gearóid Tuohy
Dear EURETINA Members,
COVID19 disease (“severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2” or “SARS-CoV-2”) has dominated the globe and our lives since the first cases1 were reported in late December 2019/early January 2020. As we all come to terms with a changing world before our own eyes, a common thread across all the international community has been the unwavering sense of gratitude for the work provided by all our healthcare professionals who put their lives on the line every day and night in our fight against COVID-19, and by all our researchers who are working around the clock to develop a treatment and a vaccine against this deadly virus. EURETINA wish them all well and send them our immense appreciation for all they do.
This edition of the EURETINA Brief, April 2nd is focused solely on COVID19. The current issue highlights a number of research activities, clinical / regulatory milestones, and market / business developments all focused on the pandemic, including the statement from EMA that the use of ibuprofen for COVID19 treatment will be monitored; a promising treatment – Remdesivir – now progressing into a clinical trial for COVID19, supported by the National Institutes of Health, and; an announcement from Moderna Inc. and the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) which has initiated clinical trial with an experimental vaccine for COVID19.
As in previous issues we have incorporated a feedback section where you can comment on any of the news items or articles under discussion and we very much welcome all contributions. Previous articles and issues can be found in the archive section on this website.
As always, your increased interaction within the EURETINA web community serves to expand your professional network and keep you up to date with the latest initiatives, activities and research in your field. Our hope is that such cross-fertilisation in an active web-based platform, including our LinkedIn page, will lead to increased collaborative opportunities and ultimately to improved patient care. All readers are invited to submit comments or responses to any of the stories featured and we look forward to hearing from you over the coming month.
Best wishes,
Dr. Gearóid Tuohy, EURETINA
1. Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, Wang X, Zhou L, Tong Y, et al. Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia. N Engl J Med [Internet]. 2020 Jan 29;382(13):1199–207. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2001316