Attributed to Marnix Van Loock, Senior Scientific Director and R&D Lead of Emerging Pathogens, Global Public Health, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV and CARE project leader
Johnson & Johnson is proud to announce that it is founding and co-leading the new CARE (Corona Accelerated R&D in Europe) consortium, Europe’s largest, multi-partner scientific research initiative dedicated to discovering and developing urgently needed treatment options for COVID-19. In this role, we are helping bring together Europe’s best and brightest scientific minds from 37 renowned academic institutions, research organizations and pharmaceutical companies, together with partners from the United States and China.
The current pandemic demonstrates just how serious certain coronaviruses have become as a public health concern. CARE will focus on three strategic pillars to achieve therapeutic breakthroughs against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 disease) and other coronavirus threats:
- Drug repositioning and repurposing
- Small molecule discovery
- Virus-neutralizing antibody discovery
The drug repositioning pillar builds on Johnson & Johnson’s ongoing partnership with the prestigious Rega Institute at KU Leuven in Belgium, where a team of scientists are screening molecule libraries containing thousands of existing compounds to determine if they have potential as COVID-19 treatments. In addition to identifying therapeutics – or even a cure – for COVID-19, CARE aims to forge a deeper understanding of coronaviruses so that the world is better prepared to respond to future outbreaks.
CARE is supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative, the world’s largest public-private partnership in the life sciences, which is funded by the European Union and the private sector. Our co-leadership of CARE illustrates Johnson & Johnson’s full-spectrum approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also includes the development of a candidate vaccine that recently entered human clinical studies, as well as comprehensive support for frontline health workers and health systems during the COVID-19 crisis.
Working in partnership, we will continue to leverage our scale and bring forth our full breadth of resources in an effort to deliver the best science on an equitable global basis to help end the pandemic.
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Notice to Investors Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding development of potential preventive and treatment regimens for COVID-19. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies and/or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: challenges and uncertainties inherent in product research and development, including the uncertainty of clinical success and of obtaining regulatory approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; manufacturing difficulties and delays; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges to patents; product efficacy or safety concerns resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; changes in behavior and spending patterns of purchasers of health care products and services; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2019, including in the sections captioned “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” and in the company’s most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and the company’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. None of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies nor Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.