'Long Covid Research Initiative' and Polybio funded to research viral persistence and antiviral treatments

SNT Gatchaman · Sep 8, 2022

PolyBio Research Foundation Receives $1.3 Million Gift to Advance the study of SARS-CoV-2 Viral Persistence in patients with LongCovid

(Boston, MA – July 18, 2022) – PolyBio Research Foundation has been gifted $1.3 million to spearhead a collaborative LongCovid research study with scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego. The funding from Balvi, a scientific investment and direct gifting fund for COVID projects, will allow the collaborative team to use innovative technologies to determine if SARS-CoV-2 or its proteins can persist for long periods of time in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of patients with LongCovid. The study sets the stage for the possible use of antiviral treatments in LongCovid.
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https://polybio.org/portfolio/intestinal-tissue/

Hutan · Jul 20, 2022

“Our collaborative study will test the straightforward possibility that at least some patients with LongCovid do not fully clear the SARS-CoV-2 virus after acute infection” says Amy Proal PhD, a microbiologist and President of PolyBio Research Foundation who helped conceptualize and organize the study. “Instead, the virus may persist in a ‘reservoir’ in patient tissue where it can no longer be identified via standard nasal swab or blood testing.”

Intestinal tissue is dense with the ACE2 receptors the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses for entry into cells, making it a very likely site of SARS-CoV-2 reservoir in LongCovid patients. Indeed, study principal co-investigator Saurabh Mehandru MD, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is a member of one of the first research teams in the world to demonstrate SARS-CoV-2 persistence in intestinal tissue. More specifically, the team identified SARS-CoV-2 antigens & immunoreactivity in intestinal tissue samples obtained from 7 asymptomatic individuals at ~4 months after the onset of COVID-19.
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The current study is an extension of those important early findings. The research team will enroll 40 study volunteers of three types: LongCovid participants with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms 6-12 months after COVID-19; participants with LongCovid who do not have GI symptoms 6-12 months after COVID-19, and participants who had COVID-19 and fully recovered with no persistent symptoms. All participants will complete a colonoscopy and endoscopy to collect intestinal tissue. Stool samples and blood will also be collected.

Study investigators will then use three forms of advanced microscopy to identify SARS-CoV-2 and its proteins in intestinal tissue samples. They will a use a range of technologies to document immune system activity in response to identified virus. The study will also employ a groundbreaking molecular profiling method called spatial transcriptomics to measure gene activity in each tissue sample and map exactly where viral activity is occurring. This will mark the first time spatial transcriptomics is used in LongCovid research.
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I like the sound of this study, even though I'd normally be wary of PolyBio. Was this the study that Putrino and Proal didn't get funded by the NIH? If so, why didn't it get funded?

Hutan · Jul 20, 2022

Nature - Pathological sequelae of long-haul COVID by Mehandru, Merad, 2022
We talked about these possibilities and Mehandru's work on that thread.

LarsSG · Jul 20, 2022

Hutan said: ↑

Was this the study that Putrino and Proal didn't get funded by the NIH? If so, why didn't it get funded?
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The one Putrino didn't get from NIH was on microclots, so I think entirely different (apparently, they didn't provide any reviewer comments, so no info on why it didn't get funded).

Jaybee00 · Jul 20, 2022

Hutan said: ↑

I'd normally be wary of PolyBio.
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As well—Did they (AP) manage to get a lab anywhere by chance? I’m guessing they are just passing the money through to Mehandru.

Binkie4 · Jul 21, 2022

Moved from the long covid in the media thread

Another tweet from an email.
@polybioRF

Huge news! We received ~1.3M from Balvi (
@VitalikButerin
) for a study of #LongCovid intestinal tissue w/
@MehandruLab
,
@PutrinoLab
&
@drmfreire
. We will use cutting-edge technologies to identify SARS-CoV-2 + immune/microbiome abnormalities in samples: https://polybio.org/portfolio/intestinal-tissue/…

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Binkie4 · Jul 20, 2022

A mention of ME/CFS

About PolyBio Research Foundation

PolyBio Research Foundation is a 501(c)3 transforming how infection-associated chronic conditions like LongCovid, ME/CFS & Post-Treatment Lyme disease are studied, diagnosed, and treated. PolyBio was founded by scientists with complementary expertise (neuroscience, microbiology & genetics). The core PolyBio team conceptualizes research projects that identify root cause drivers of these conditions, and build collaborative teams to make the projects a reality.

RoseE · Sep 8, 2022

Post copied from the New Zealand news thread.

Radio NZ reporting tonight...
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/47...ces-to-study-leading-theory-behind-long-covid

Top scientists from leading academic centres in the US are banding together to answer a key question about the root cause of Long Covid - whether fragments of the coronavirus persist in the tissues of some individuals.

The effort, known as the Long Covid Research Initiative, aims to streamline research and quickly pivot to clinical trials of potential treatments. By sharing diverse skill sets and resources, the group hopes to uncover the scientific underpinnings of the disease and use that to design evidence-based trials.

Long Covid is a complex, poorly understood, disabling condition that can last for many months after an initial Covid-19 infection, leaving many of its sufferers unable to work. It affects nearly one in five American adults who have had Covid-19, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The initiative is backed by an initial US$15 million ($25 million) from Balvi, a scientific investment fund formed by Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the blockchain platform Ethereum.

It includes scientists from Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of California, San Francisco, Yale University and the J Craig Venter Institute.

"The first thing you need to understand in Long Covid is if patients still have the virus in them or not," said Dr Amy Proal of the nonprofit PolyBio Research Foundation, an expert in infection-associated chronic disease who will serve as chief scientific officer of the initiative.

Currently, there are no proven treatments for Long Covid, which affects more than 150 million people globally.

A growing body of evidence points to the presence of virus in tissues that continue to provoke a response from the immune system, she said.

That may help explain the cascade of some 200 symptoms associated with Long Covid, including pain, fever, headaches, cognitive impairment, shortness of breath and exhaustion after minimal amounts of activity.

Researchers will use advanced imaging and gene-sequencing techniques looking for evidence of the virus in tissues and analysing its affects on the immune system.

If viral persistence is proven to cause Long Covid, the research initiative aims to test antiviral treatments, such as Pfizer Inc's Paxlovid as well as other types of drugs that modulate the immune system.

"Antivirals are our top clinical trials target," Proal said, adding the group would like to study Paxlovid. She could not say whether Pfizer is working with the group.

Some case studies have shown Paxlovid improved symptoms in a handful of Long Covid patients. But large, well-designed trials are needed to prove the treatments help and identify which patients are most likely to benefit.

A Pfizer spokesman said the company is "actively exploring" potential collaborative studies, but would not elaborate.

The initiative was organised by a group of Long Covid patients with backgrounds in finance, start-ups and technology, who are leading the fundraising efforts, such as the initial $15 million grant, as well as others yet to be disclosed, said Henry Scott-Green, one of the organisers.

The goal is to accelerate research by cutting across institutional silos and breaking down funding bottlenecks.
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It doesn't sound like they are looking at ME/CFS research or collaborating with??

John Mac · Sep 8, 2022

Merged thread

Scientists seek $100mn to research long Covid

Scientists in the US and UK have begun a new drive to understand why so many people continue to suffer Covid-19 symptoms for months or years after their infection.

The Long Covid Research Initiative is seeking to raise $100mn to answer the most pressing questions about a condition that affects tens of millions of people worldwide.

Top priority is to discover whether long Covid sufferers retain a reservoir of the Sars-Cov-2 virus that causes the disease within their bodies — which could explain symptoms such as exhaustion and brain fog.

These linger well after patients have stopped being infectious. “There’s growing evidence of Sars-Cov-2 persisting in tissues such as the intestines, the nervous system and the respiratory tract,” said John Wherry, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute of Immunology, one of 22 scientists involved in an initiative started by patients. “But we don’t know much about these viral reservoirs because they’re quite inaccessible in living patients.”

Another of those involved, Helen Davies, respiratory medicine consultant at University Hospital Llandough in Wales, said: “Several studies have demonstrated persistence of viral RNA [genetic material] but we need to know whether viable virus is present.”

Philanthropic support for the long Covid initiative has been led by a $15mn donation from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Buterin is donating through the Balvi philanthropic fund, which he established to support Covid research.

“While society has mostly returned to normal life, Covid is still a dangerous virus, with evidence of all kinds of long-term effects that we are not close to fully understanding,” he said. “It’s vitally important to double down on effects to research and better understand these issues, and come closer to being able to effectively prevent and treat them.”

A second donation is coming from Patrick Soon-Shiong, the California-based biotech and media billionaire, who is preparing to contribute through the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation.

The exact number of people with Covid who go on to develop long-term illness remains unknown, but Werry said the best estimate was about 10 per cent.

As the cumulative total of recorded Covid cases worldwide stands at more than 600mn, this would imply 60mn long Covid sufferers. A survey released last week by the UK Office for National Statistics found 2 per cent of the population had long Covid symptoms.
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https://www.ft.com/content/5d25e42e-b59d-41a4-a69c-214d5872efe6

Also mentioned here:
https://www.reuters.com/business/he...-leading-theory-behind-long-covid-2022-09-08/

RedFox · Sep 8, 2022

It doesn't seem like this organization is new, just that they've received a large donation and are starting a major push for funding. A positive development nonetheless.
Their website: lc19.org
Their Twitter: research_long
While their website doesn't seem to mention ME/CFS, their news page has a list of researchers with many familiar faces. They claim to be collaborating with the likes of Amy Proal, David Putrino, and David Systrom.

Dakota15 · Sep 8, 2022

Proal is the Chief Scientific Officer for LCRI.

Jaybee00 · Sep 8, 2022

Dakota15 said: ↑

Proal is the Chief Scientific Officer for LCRI.
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Can you provide a link for this?

Why is Systrom associated with this group?

This will be a massive waste of money as it is a project of Amy’s to demonstrate that there are viruses that are causing the symptoms of LC/MECFS.

For those new to this arena, Amy Proal’s major contribution to science is pushing a pseudoscientific theory called the Marshall Protocol.

http://www.cureality.com/blog/post/2008/03/31/the-marshall-protocol-and-other-fairy-tales.html

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-marshal-protocol/

Dakota15 · Sep 8, 2022

https://twitter.com/user/status/1567725456337633281

Dakota15 · Sep 8, 2022

https://twitter.com/user/status/1567917563799027719

rvallee · Sep 8, 2022

Haven't read much yet, but there is more. Much more.

While $15 million gives LCRI a decent start, it likely won’t be enough for the long haul, which is why it’s targeting some $100 million in funding in the coming years — with plans to eventually expand its model to related conditions such as Epstein-Barr virus and enteroviruses
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Although, I think this may be all for nothing. I just saw Gaffney's wife whining about red flags in this research and she noticed that it appears that they are researching "untested theories" (she must have meant hypothesis but whatever), and that's just not allowed, obviously. In science we only research things we already know about, obviously. I'm not sure how she thinks scientific theories happen. Probably something about birds and cabbages.

In all of this, it's one of the most annoying things, that the people who successfully impeded this, who ruined millions of lives, are such small, tiny, mediocre thinkers with mediocre opinions.

Also, you see, it was funded by private tech money. And that's just truly awful. I'm sure she has identical takes about the same issue with other diseases. Oh, yeah.

Trish · Sep 8, 2022

rvallee said: ↑

I just saw Gaffney's wife whining about red flags in this research
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Who is Gaffney and what is the relevance of his wife's comments to this research? I'm confused.

Charles B. · Apr 12, 2023

Trish said: ↑

Who is Gaffney and what is the relevance of his wife's comments to this research? I'm confused.
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Adam Gaffney is a serial commentator and physician/influencer who has painted Long Covid as a form of mass hysteria. He’s spoken favorably on the FND construct and penned a piece in which he was rather effusive toward Simon Wessely.

His wife is a prominent journalist who holds similar views and is far more pugilistic in her communications. She was criticizing the formation of this Long Covid research initiative on multiple grounds. In my opinion, they are adversaries of every patient in this forum.

Trish · Sep 8, 2022

Jaybee00 said: ↑

Can you provide a link for this?

Why is Systrom associated with this group?

This will be a massive waste of money as it is a project of Amy’s to demonstrate that there are viruses that are causing the symptoms of LC/MECFS.

For those new to this arena, Amy Proal’s major contribution to science is pushing a pseudoscientific theory called the Marshall Protocol.

http://www.cureality.com/blog/post/2008/03/31/the-marshall-protocol-and-other-fairy-tales.html

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-marshal-protocol/
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I doubt it makes sense to hold against someone the fact that they attributed their recovery from ME some years ago to a quack protocol.

Amy Proal seems to be successfully getting funding and recruiting other scientists to do useful sounding research. I think we should look at this on its merits, not on one person's past personal history.

Jaybee00 · Sep 9, 2022

Trish said: ↑

I doubt it makes sense to hold against someone the fact that they attributed their recovery from ME some years ago to a quack protocol.
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She didn’t just attribute her recovery to the Protocol. Virtually her entire “scholarly” and “academic” career was spent researching this “protocol” with Trevor Marshall.

If you want an expert on auto-immunity, I would defer to @Jonathan Edwards and not Amy and Trevor.

Bogus biological research is just as bad as bogus BPS research, but Amy has the potential to waste a great deal more money than the BPS folks.

See her publications with Marshall here

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,10&q=AD+proal&btnG=

rvallee · Sep 9, 2022

Had not noticed that. Lots of private money behind this. Looooooooots of money and life sciences technology.

JCVI is excited to announce that several of our scientists will be contributing to the newly launched
@research_long
— a collaboration of researchers, clinicians, and patients working to rapidly study and treat #longcovid.
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https://twitter.com/user/status/1568319573887254531

Then again, Davis is pretty much as big as Venter science-wise, just not as commercially-oriented.

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