Experts Convene at NIH to Discuss Long Covid

FNIH CEO Dr. Julie Gerberding (c) speaks on a panel as NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli (l), Marrazzo and Baden look on.

Photo:  Chia-Chi Charlie Chang

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in collaboration with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), co-hosted a workshop titled, “RECOVER: Treating Long Covid (RECOVER-TLC)–Navigating the Pathway Forward.” The three-day workshop took place in the John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center on NIH’s campus in September.

There were 180 in-person and more than 1,200 virtual participants, including Long Covid researchers, healthcare providers, patients, advocacy organizations, industry partners, federal scientific agencies, and federal policymakers.

NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, along with FNIH CEO Dr. Julie Gerberding gave welcoming remarks to open the meeting. NIAID Director Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo and Dr. Lindsey Baden, vice president of clinical research at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, co-chaired the workshop.

FNIH staff gather at an information table at the workshop. From l, Mira Patel, Terry Kerere, Jasmine Buchanan, Rikkia Hicks and Angelique Moss.

Photo:  Chia-Chi Charlie Chang

The workshop follows on a recent announcement by Bertagnolli describing the new RECOVER-TLC program, which is designed to develop safe and effective therapeutic interventions for Long Covid and to provide these to health care providers and their patients as rapidly as possible. 

Attendees discussed the current research landscape and helped plan the RECOVER-TLC program including governance, agent prioritization, study design and outcome measures. This new program builds on NIH’s RECOVER ongoing observational cohort studies and clinical trials addressing Long Covid. 

NIAID will lead the new program, leveraging its expertise in infectious and immunologic diseases and conditions and its experience in conducting Covid-19 clinical trials. This program will provide a clear path for ongoing scientific and community engagement to assess new ideas, identify potential therapeutics and biologics, and execute innovative study designs.

Importantly, RECOVER-TLC will provide additional clinical trial capacity, building on existing and new RECOVER clinical trial sites, to involve investigators and participants who are committed to Long Covid research and clinical care.