New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS): In order to speed up research to find treatment for the deadly novel coronavirus, the World Health Organisation on Wednesday organised a forum in collaboration with the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GLOPID-R).

The Global research and innovation forum is to mobilise international action in response to the virus (2019-nCoV) emergency.

The two-day event taking place at the WHO headquarters aims at bringing together key players, including leading scientists as well as public health agencies, ministries of health and research funders pursuing 2019-nCoV critical research and the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, among other innovations.

The purpose of the forum is to identify key knowledge gaps, and research priorities and accelerate the generation of critical scientific information.

According to the WHO Research and Development Blueprint, a global strategy and preparedness plan, which was formulated during the spread of Ebola epidemic in Africa, rapid activation of the research and development activities will be conducted. Its aim is to fast track the availability of effective tests, vaccines and medicines that can be used to save lives and avert large scale crisis.

The forum expects outcomes that provide research roadmap with clearly defined priorities and governance framework addressing each of several thematic areas like virus, diagnostics, natural history and transmission, clinical, therapeutics, vaccines, ethics, regulatory science, animal health, data and samples analysis. The forum is to be attended by multi-disciplinary teams.