Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals to Aid in Global Fight Against Coronavirus Pandemic

Initiative will advance therapies for treating Coronavirus and future deadly viruses

CLEVELAND, April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, announced today a new initiative that galvanizes its transatlantic network of academic institutions, foundations, and philanthropic partners to accelerate promising, near-term therapies to treat COVID-19 and its complications and battle future pandemic threats.

In advancing its portfolio of 120 drugs-in-the-making at 54 leading academic centers in North America and the U.K., HDI has developed a proven model that has enabled scientists in academia to accelerate their breakthrough drug discoveries toward trials in patients.

A Call for Treatments
The COVID-19 initiative includes a suite of actions, which are currently underway. These are:

1)    Allocate Harrington Discovery Institute operating and grantmaking capital towards near-term COVID-19-related treatment efforts.
2)    Accelerate programs in its current portfolio that may target Coronavirus and its clinical ramifications. This entails advancing treatments that may enter clinical trials right away.
3)    Issue a transatlantic call for proposals for novel therapies that target Coronavirus and its clinical impact, particularly on the lungs and heart.
4)    Aggressively seek broad spectrum antivirals that may avert the next viral pandemic, supporting the well-accepted position in public health that future viral pandemics, whether Coronavirus-related or otherwise, are likely.
5)    Raise new capital targeted specifically at advanced and breakthrough treatments for pandemic viruses.

Harrington Discovery Institute will make information available to its partners and the public about each prong of its five-part initiative. Details on the call for proposals and its accelerated timeline will be released soon. Those who are interested are encouraged to check HarringtonDiscovery.org for more information. 

"In our pipeline, we have medicines that may help patients right now," said Harrington Discovery Institute president, Jonathan S. Stamler, MD, Robert S. and Sylvia K. Reitman Family Foundation Distinguished Chair of Cardiovascular Innovation and Professor of Medicine at University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University. "International leaders have stated that we are at war against the novel Coronavirus. Frankly, we have responsibility to contribute. Harrington Discovery Institute is dedicated to using its platform for academic scientists, and the associated pipeline, to source next-generation medicines for unmet needs. This pandemic represents a great unmet need of our time."