Vaccines are highly specific to a given emerging pathogen, and as a result need to be developed from scratch once a pandemic organism is identified. Although vaccines have the benefit of preventing disease, they are of no value to an individual who is already ill. In this setting, supportive care and antimicrobial therapy are necessary. Although some pandemic candidates such as Anthrax are susceptible to currently available antimicrobials, others, like SARS-CoV-2, are not. At present, antimicrobials are developed piecemeal in profit-oriented programs mostly run by drug companies. We need a centralised, intelligent database of biochemistry that is focused on pandemic candidates, but is in the public domain, as was the Human Genome Project. An opportunity lies in the fact that, as a result of evolution, there is a remarkable homology of biochemical systems across different species. We are all familiar with the fact that all of life on earth is based on DNA. This similarity extends right down through life, to the structures and behaviour of proteins, fats and carbohydrates etc. Consequently, the search for therapeutic agents is not random. It is a quest for the “Periodic Table” of biochemistry, a matrix of chemical structures and functions. Modern information technology will enable laboratories throughout the world to share data and inspiration in a way that no humans could. The central AI system could alert one laboratory the moment that another uploads a relevant piece of work, even if that link had not previously been expected. Thus, the bark of the Cinchona tree produces Quinine, which has been used to cure malaria for centuries. If specific antimicrobials cannot be found in nature, they can be designed using knowledge of the biochemistry of the pathogen, and the 3-D electrophysical structure of the molecules involved. Once potential drugs have been identified, they should be developed in a progressive fashion depending on calculated utility. Protected by such an armoury of drugs in readiness, we would be better equipped to face not only the next pandemic, but also emerging antibiotic resistance.
The Human Genome Project provides a model for how this can be achieved. A Founding Committee should be set up, drawn from people with expertise in the relevant branches of Science, Information Technology and Project Management. They would set up subcommittees covering identification of pathogens, biochemistry, pharmacology and information technology. Global partners including the WHO should be identified. In order to maintain worldwide cooperation, project members need to display sensitivity to diverse cultures, in relation to potential exposure to zoonoses as well as acceptability of therapies. Funding should be raised for the organisational infrastructure, the IT hardware and software, and research grants.
If humanity can map the entire human genome in thirteen years, surely thirty years later we can, indeed must, take on this challenge.
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