The COVID19‐NMR Consortium: A Public Report on the Impact of this New Global Collaboration

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 62; no. 14; pp. e202217171 - n/a
• Main Authors: Duchardt‐Ferner, Elke, Ferner, Jan, Fürtig, Boris, Hengesbach, Martin, Richter, Christian, Schlundt, Andreas, Sreeramulu, Sridhar, Wacker, Anna, Weigand, Julia E., Wirmer‐Bartoschek, Julia, Schwalbe, Harald
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 27.03.2023
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Binders; Communicable Disease Control; Consortia; COVID-19; Data analysis; Drug Discovery; Genomes; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; NMR; NMR Spectroscopy; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Pandemics; Proteomes; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Viral diseases; Viral Protein Biology; Viral RNA Biology; Viruses; NMR Spectroscopy; Viral RNA Biology; SARS-Cov-2; Viral Protein Biology; Drug Discovery
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.202217171

The outbreak of COVID‐19 in December 2019 required the formation of international consortia for a coordinated scientific effort to understand and combat the virus. In this Viewpoint Article, we discuss how the NMR community has gathered to investigate the genome and proteome of SARS‐CoV‐2 and tested them for binding to low‐molecular‐weight binders. External factors including extended lockdowns due to the global pandemic character of the viral infection triggered the transition from locally focused collaborative research conducted within individual research groups to digital exchange formats for immediate discussion of unpublished results and data analysis, sample sharing, and coordinated research between more than 50 groups from 18 countries simultaneously. We discuss key lessons that might pertain after the end of the pandemic and challenges that we need to address. This Viewpoint Article discusses how the global NMR community organized itself to rapidly contribute to combat SARS‐CoV‐2. This new collaborative research might serve as model for future ways to address great societal needs, without competing with curiosity‐driven research.