The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) - Coronavirus Research Response Initiative: 2020 Antiviral Development for COVID-19 grant opportunity is open in Sapphire and will close 5:00pm (AEST) on 8 April 2020. No minimum data is due, but interested applicants are requested to contact the NHMRC and Health team as soon as possible if they are intending to apply.

Applications to this MRFF Coronavirus Research Response: 2020 Antiviral Development for COVID-19 grant opportunity must propose research to rapidly identify antiviral candidates targeting SARS-CoV-2 (new and repurposed) and accelerate promising effective treatments that can be made available to treat Australians infected with SARS-CoV-2.

A competitive two stage funding process will be used:

Stage 1: Funding of up to $3 million will be provided to support testing of up to 10 antiviral candidates for stability, safety and effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 to demonstrate proof of concept. Stage 1 projects are to be completed within 9 months of commencement.

Stage 2: Funding of up to $5 million will support acceleration of promising antiviral candidates from Stage 1 into clinical practice, enabling clinical trials in humans, progression through regulatory pathways and/or transition to commercialisation. Stage 2 projects are to be completed within 24 months of commencement.

Applicants should note that the research funded by this grant opportunity is not intended to be used for vaccine development or respiratory medicine research for COVID-19. These issues are the subject of separate MRFF grant opportunities. For more information on this grant opportunity, visit Grants.gov.au.

The Department of Health Clinical Trials Project Reference Group have published a national statement in relation to COVID-19. This is a joint statement that reflects the shared views of all state and territory Departments of Health, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Clinical Trials Project Reference Group (CTPRG).

This guidance provides general information and advice to institutions conducting or overseeing research, Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs), researchers and sponsors in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is directed towards those involved in clinical trial research and other relevant clinical research, but also may be of use to institutions, HRECs and researchers in other fields.

The advice represents current thinking and best practice at the government level and will be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in government policy, public health advice and the needs of those conducting and participating in clinical research in Australia.

To view the statement, visit the Department of Health website.

The Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) physical Office for Research space in Flinders Medical Centre (room 6A219) is currently being used for clinical purposes by the Allied Health directorate.

The SALHN Office of Research is still be responsive to both emails and phone calls, which have been diverted to personal mobile phones. There may be some minor delays to processing times due to the disruption working remotely causes.

The SALHN Office of Research drop-in sessions usually conducted on Wednesday morning from 9-11 have therefore been cancelled until further notice.

To contact the SALHN Office of Research:

Phone: (08) 8204 6453

Email: Health.SALHNOfficeforResearch@sa.gov.au

Website: http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/SALHNresearch