Hackensack Meridian CDI Receives National Institutes of Health Grant to Continue COVID-19 Work
October 08, 2020
The Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) has been awarded $619,850 to continue a key drug-discovery program in pursuit of COVID-19 treatments.
The drug discovery program that is focused on the assessment of hundreds of drug candidates in the CDI labs, to find the most promising potential therapies.
"This collaboration intends to help discover new clinical pathways at an accelerated pace," said David S. Perlin, Ph.D., the chief scientific officer and senior vice president of the CDI. "Many of our key investigators have outstanding infectious disease experience, and this is another way the CDI can contribute to fighting back against the pandemic."
The funding is aimed at accelerating the partnership at the CDI's NIH Center of Excellence in Translational Research (CETR), helmed by Perlin, for "rapid drug development targeting SARS-CoV-2" – and also potential therapies for all coronaviruses ("pan-coronavirus" treatments).
The current collaboration leverages CDI's expertise in academic drug discovery and evaluation of viral pathogens under biosafety-level 3 conditions, in collaboration with Merck a global leader in the discovery and development of anti-infectives against the world's most pressing diseases.
About the Center for Discovery and Innovation
The Center for Discovery and Innovation, a newly established member of Hackensack Meridian Health, seeks to translate current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases and other life-threatening and disabling conditions. The CDI, housed in a fully renovated state-of-the-art facility, offers world-class researchers a support infrastructure and culture of discovery that promotes science innovation and rapid translation to the clinic.
For additional information, please visit www.hmh-cdi.org.