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The Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and REsponse (PREPARE) is a national programme that was set up by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to support and strengthen Singapore’s key essential research capabilities, translational platforms, and expertise to develop tools, methods and products that can be tapped on to detect, respond to, and contain future infectious disease threats.
Infectious disease outbreaks are a continuous threat to Singapore. As an international travel hub with a high population density, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to imported and local transmission of novel infectious diseases and re-emergence of established ones. Before COVID-19, past examples of imported infectious disease outbreaks include Nipah (1999), SARS (2003), influenza pandemic (2009), and Zika (2016).
Epidemics can result in severe health, economic and societal consequences for Singapore. The COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrates that the infection and public health interventions necessary to reduce epidemic spread and adverse health outcomes exact a high economic and societal cost. In exiting from “circuit breaker” public health interventions, extensive efforts are needed to prevent and manage subsequent waves of transmission.
Developing cutting-edge research capabilities to prepare for and respond well to future epidemics is thus a crucial national priority. The likelihood of future epidemics is rising, driven by increased human mobility, the impact of climate change on disease vectors, and factors that increase zoonotic infections around the world. It could also be a matter of time before Disease X, an unknown disease that is highly infectious, deadly, and mutates easily, happens.
Singapore’s strong biomedical research capabilities have contributed substantially to our overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most striking aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is how fast and effectively the global scientific community has worked together to understand the virus and create solutions. Singapore’s biomedical science capabilities have enabled us to rapidly use new findings, generated locally and overseas, to develop insights and solutions critical for our pandemic response.
Peacetime preparations served Singapore well by allowing a rapid R&D response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, an overarching national epidemic R&D plan will allow a faster and more decisive response, such as prioritisation of research during a pandemic and working seamlessly with government agencies to provide scientific insights to inform public policies.
PREPARE’s mission is to:
Draw up a national R&D plan that sets out the key R&D goals and strategies that support epidemic preparedness and response;
Develop strong and synergistic partnerships between teams in different disciplines, across sectors, and in close collaboration with MOH;
Make the necessary preparations during periods of normalcy that will enable R&D to proceed rapidly during an epidemic; and
Actively facilitate and expedite the process by which research discoveries can be developed into deployable products and solutions, e.g. approved diagnostic kits and therapeutic agents, and manufactured at scale.
With this, PREPARE will support a number of desired outcomes:
Enhance research capabilities for early detection and sense-making to prepare Singapore against future threats;
Develop or strengthen key enablers in data infrastructure, analytics and behavioural science research to respond to public health crisis;
Strengthen research capabilities to enhance our national resilience in diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines; and
Develop a strong infectious diseases research collaboration network across countries in our region to respond to epidemics and facilitate multicentre clinical trials.