Imagine a weather forecast, but for viruses. Instead of just seeing a storm hit, this system uses wastewater and blood tests to spot a virus coming and predicts exactly how it will spread. It helps cities prepare the right medicine and rules before the outbreak actually peaks.
Health systems react too slowly to new pathogens, leading to severe infections and massive socio-economic losses. There is a lack of integrated tools that link genomic surveillance directly to policy decisions.
A proof of concept for a pandemic preparedness system including non-targeted wastewater sequencing methods and sero-surveillance datasets.
If you are a sequencing provider dealing with unpredictable demand during outbreaks — this project developed non-targeted sequencing techniques in wastewater that allow for broader pathogen detection. This enables a shift from reactive testing to proactive surveillance services.
If you are an insurer dealing with massive financial losses from sudden pandemics — this project developed scenario-based decision support models. These tools help predict the socio-economic impact of an outbreak to better price risk and manage reserves.
If you are a drug developer dealing with slow response times for new variants — this project developed protocols for accelerated medical countermeasure development. This reduces the time lost between pathogen identification and the availability of a treatment.
Based on available project data, no commercial pricing is provided as the project is funded by a EUR 2,999,600 EU contribution for research and proof of concept development.
The project is currently validating a roadmap for large-scale implementation through an ecosystem of interlinked actors across 4 EU countries.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not mentioned; the project focuses on delivering a stakeholder-validated proof of concept.
The system is designed to interact regularly with HERA, medical communities, and health authorities to provide accessible information and policy support.
The project period runs from 2023-10-01 to 2027-09-30.
The consortium is purely academic and research-driven, consisting of 5 partners from 5 countries (BE, CH, DK, EL, FR). With 0% industry participation and 0 SMEs, the project is currently focused on scientific validation and proof of concept rather than immediate commercial productization.
Contact the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven research office regarding the LEAPS project.
Contact SciTransfer to find a commercial partner to transition this PoC to market.
