The Spiez lab, known for its detective work on chemical, biological and nuclear threats since the Second World War, was commissioned last year by the World Health Organization to be the first in a global network of high-security laboratories to develop, store and share news discovered germs that could unleash the next pandemic. WHO’s BioHub program was born, in part, out of frustration with the obstacles researchers faced in obtaining samples of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, first identified in China, to understand its risks and develop tools to his fight. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register But just over a year later, the scientists involved in the effort ran into obstacles. These include securing guarantees needed to accept coronavirus variant samples from different countries, the first phase of the project. Some of the world’s largest countries may not cooperate. And there is still no mechanism for sharing samples to develop vaccines, treatments or tests without infringing intellectual property protection. “If we have another pandemic like the coronavirus, the goal would be for it to stay where it started,” Isabel Hunger-Glaser, head of the BioHub project at Spiez, told Reuters in a rare media interview at the lab. Hence the need to transport samples to the hub so it can help scientists around the world assess the risk. “We realized it’s a lot harder” than we thought, he said.
SAFETY IN THE MOUNTAINS
Spiez Lab’s exterior gives no indication of the high-stakes project inside. Its angular architecture resembles European university buildings erected in the 1970s. From time to time, cows graze in the green central courtyard. But the biosecurity officer keeps his blinds closed. Alarms go off if his door is open for more than a few seconds. He watches several screens showing views from security cameras of labs with the highest biosafety level (BSL) precautions. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, is studied in BSL-3 laboratories, the second highest safety level. Virus samples used at the BioHub are stored in locked freezers, Hunger-Glaser said. An air pressure reduction system means that clean air will flow into the most secure areas, rather than contaminated air flowing out in a breach. Scientists working with the coronavirus and other pathogens wear protective suits, sometimes with their own air supply. They work with samples in a hermetically sealed containment unit. Waste leaving the lab is superheated to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,830 F) to kill the pathogens that cling to it. To date, Spiez has never had an accidental leak, the team says. That reputation is a key part of why they were chosen as the first WHO BioHub, Hunger-Glaser said. Proximity to WHO headquarters, two hours away in Geneva, also helped. WHO and the Swiss government are funding the annual budget of 600,000 Swiss francs ($626,000) for its first phase. Researchers have always shared pathogens, and there are some existing networks and regional repositories. But the process is ad hoc and often slow. The process of sharing has also been controversial, for example, when researchers in rich countries take credit for the work of scientists who do not have a good relationship with each other in developing countries. “You often just traded stuff with your friends,” Hunger-Glaser said. Marion Koopmans, head of Erasmus MC’s Department of Viroscience in the Netherlands, said it took her lab a month to understand SARS-CoV-2 after it emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. Chinese researchers were quick to post a copy of the genetic sequence online, which helped the researchers begin early work. But efforts to understand how a new virus is transmitted and how it responds to existing tools require live samples, the scientists said.
EARLY CHALLENGES
Luxembourg was the first country to share samples of new coronavirus variants with BioHub, followed by South Africa and Britain. Luxembourg sent variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, while the latter two countries shared Omicron, the WHO said. Luxembourg took samples of Omicron from South Africa, via the hub, less than three weeks after its identification, allowing its researchers to begin assessing the risks of the now dominant strain. Portugal and Germany also received Omicron samples. But Peru, El Salvador, Thailand and Egypt, all of which signaled in early 2022 that they wanted to send homegrown variants, are still waiting, largely because it’s unclear which official in each country should provide the necessary legal guarantees, Hunger- Glazer said. There is no international protocol on who should sign the forms providing security details and usage agreements, he added. None of the four countries responded to requests for comment. Both the WHO and Hunger-Glaser stressed that the project is a pilot and have already accelerated some processes. Another challenge is how to share samples used in research that could lead to commercial gain, such as vaccine development. BioHub samples are shared freely to provide wide access. However, this creates potential problems if, for example, pharmacists profit from researchers’ discoveries without compensation. The WHO plans to address this in the long term and bring laboratories in every global region online, but it is not yet clear when and how it will be funded. The voluntary nature of the project can also hinder this. “Some countries will never carry viruses or it can be extremely difficult — China, Indonesia, Brazil,” Koopmans said, referring to their stance on recent outbreaks. None of the three responded to requests for comment. The project also comes amid heightened attention to labs worldwide after unproven claims in some Western countries that a leak from a high-security laboratory in Wuhan may have sparked the COVID-19 pandemic, a charge China and most international scientists have rejected . Hunger-Glaser said thinking around emerging threats needs to change in the wake of COVID-19. “If it’s a real emergency, the WHO should even get a plane” to carry the virus to scientists, he said. “If you can prevent the spread, it’s worth it.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Jennifer Rigby. Editing by Michele Gershberg and Nick Macfie Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
