R&D roadmap for WHO coronavirus Collaborative Open Research Consortium (CORC)

Following the events of the  COVID-19 pandemic and in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, the WHO Research & Development (R&D) Blueprint Team launched the Collaborative Open Research Consortium (CORC) to promote coordinated global research on priority pathogen families.

PREPARE was designated to lead the coronavirus CORC (CORC-CoV) with the R&D roadmap as its first deliverable. This roadmap outlines coronavirus research priorities that will need to be focused upon and executed as part of pandemic preparedness.

PREPARE has facilitated the formation of the CORC-CoV which has now grown to more than 150 members, comprising global experts within the coronavirus field, ranging from regulators and trial experts to research principal investigators and industry partners.

Throughout 2025, multiple consultations were held to discern and discuss the priorities. The roadmap can be segregated into six overarching themes:

1. Ecology and transmission

2. Virus biology

3. Immune responses

4. Detection technologies

5. Medical countermeasures

6. Biosafety and biosecurity

These items have been packaged into a document and is now available on the WHO website (through to 28 February 2026) for public consultation.