Our research
CIRG rapidly initiated COVID-19 research activities in early 2020, including clinical treatment trials, establishment of biobanks, and a phase I/II clinical study of SARS-CoV-2 DNA vaccine candidates.
We have participated in several large international clinical research collaborations and adaptive platform trials, including NOR-Solidarity, DisCoVeRy, EU-SolidAct and the Norwegian SARS-CoV-2 study, and contributed to the establishment of EU-RESPONSE, a European clinical research platform designed to accelerate the implementation of therapeutic studies during future pandemics.
Building upon the scientific infrastructure, collaborative networks, and methodological expertise developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, our research efforts now continue through participation in PROACT EU, a European adaptive platform for multinational phase II/III clinical trials of respiratory viral infections.
PROACT EU enables the simultaneous evaluation of multiple therapeutic strategies in hospitalized patients and is designed for rapid adaptation to emerging pathogens and future outbreaks. The platform represents an important step toward sustainable pandemic preparedness and evidence generation in infectious diseases.
Read more at PROACT EU RESPONSE.
Selected publications
- SARS-CoV-2 T-cell vaccine VB10.2210 induces broad T-cell responses in a phase 1/2 open-label clinical trial. Tøndel C, Jenum S, Tonby K, Christensen EE, Cox RJ, Onyango TB, Skeie LG, Robins H, Klinger M, Banbury B, Bello T, Osborne EJ, Jørgensen MJ, Pourpe S, Leikfoss IS, Jürgens T, Wold H, Torhaug S, Makvandi-Nejad S, Edo-Matas D, Schjetne K, Fredriksen AB, Norheim G, Dyrhol-Riise AM. Vaccine. 2026 Mar 7;75:128290. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128290.
- Efficacy and safety of baricitinib in hospitalized adults with severe or critical COVID-19 (Bari-SolidAct): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial. Trøseid M, Arribas JR, Assoumou L, Holten AR, Poissy J, Terzić V, Mazzaferri F, Baño JR, Eustace J, Hites M, Joannidis M, Paiva JA, Reuter J, Püntmann I, Patrick-Brown TDJH, Westerheim E, Nezvalova-Henriksen K, Beniguel L, Dahl TB, Bouscambert M, Halanova M, Péterfi Z, Tsiodras S, Rezek M, Briel M, Ünal S, Schlegel M, Ader F, Lacombe K, Amdal CD, Rodrigues S, Tonby K, Gaudet A, Heggelund L, Mootien J, Johannessen A, Møller JH, Pollan BD, Tveita AA, Kildal AB, Richard JC, Dalgard O, Simensen VC, Baldé A, de Gastines L, Del Álamo M, Aydin B, Lund-Johansen F, Trabaud MA, Diallo A, Halvorsen B, Røttingen JA, Tacconelli E, Yazdanpanah Y, Olsen IC, Costagliola D; EU SolidAct study group. Crit Care. 2023 Jan 10;27(1):9. doi: 10.1186/s13054-022-04205-8.
- Remdesivir and three other drugs for hospitalised patients with COVID-19: final results of the WHO Solidarity randomised trial and updated meta-analyses. WHO Solidarity Trial Consortium. Lancet. 2022 May 21;399(10339):1941-1953. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00519-0.
- Critical COVID-19 is associated with distinct leukocyte phenotypes and transcriptome patterns. Christensen EE, Jørgensen MJ, Nore KG, Dahl TB, Yang K, Ranheim T, Huse C, Lind A, Nur S, Stiksrud B, Jenum S, Tonby K, Holter JC, Holten AR, Halvorsen B, Dyrhol-Riise AM. J Intern Med. 2021 Sep;290(3):677-692. doi: 10.1111/joim.13310.
- Respiratory dysfunction three months after severe COVID-19 is associated with gut microbiota alterations. Vestad B et al NOR-Solidarity study group. J Intern Med. 2022 Jun;291(6):801-812. doi: 10.1111/joim.13458.
