The Pirbright Institute Addresses Social Media Misinformation on the Coronavirus

The following announcement was published on the institute's website on January 24, 2020. 

The Pirbright Institute is aware that misinformation regarding the Institute and its research is circulating on social media following an outbreak of a new (novel) coronavirus that infects humans in Wuhan, China. These are the facts regarding our coronavirus research and funding.

The Pirbright Institute carries out research on infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a coronavirus that infects poultry, and porcine deltacoronavirus that infects pigs. Pirbright does not currently work with human coronaviruses. More information on our coronavirus livestock research can be found on our website.

The Institute holds Patent no. 10130701 which covers the development of an attenuated (weakened) form of the coronavirus that could potentially be used as a vaccine to prevent respiratory diseases in birds and other animals. Many vaccines are made in this way, from flu to polio. We have not yet developed an IBV vaccine, but research is ongoing.

The Institute is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation (BBSRC UKRI) and also receives funding from many other organisations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The patented work was not funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. More information on The Livestock Antibody Hub, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is available on our website.

Click here for the full announcement. 

Click here to review the aforementioned patent. 

Source: The Pirbright Institute