PReViX: a project to prepare for the next respiratory viral pandemic
The PReViX scientific project—which stands for " Pandemic Preparedness for Respiratory Virus X "—led by Mircea Sofonea, an associate professor at the University of Montpellier, has officially received funding from the PEPR MIE program on emerging infectious diseases to better respond to future global health crises.
While the world is still struggling to fully learn the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community is mobilizing to prevent future major health threats. In France, the PReViX project is part of this effort. Coordinated by a national consortium of nine research units spread across four sites (Montpellier, Paris, Bordeaux, Rennes), this large-scale project aims to build a scientific and public health response framework capable of detecting, modeling, and anticipating the emergence of new respiratory viruses as soon as the first signs appear. It is based on WHO recommendations, which place “Disease X” at the heart of its priorities, emphasizing the urgency of better preparing for a future pandemic caused by a pathogen that is still unknown.
A global alert and a major public health issue
In 2020, the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus plunged the world into one of the most severe health crises in its history. In France, as elsewhere, healthcare systems, governance structures, and scientific frameworks had to adapt urgently, revealing weaknesses and a lack of preparedness in the face of such a shock. Despite the efforts made, the succession of SARS-CoV-2 variants and the resurgence of viruses such as Mpox and avian influenza have demonstrated that pandemic risks remain ever-present. It is in this context that the WHO has updated its list of priority pathogens, which includes Disease X, a symbol of these threats that are still invisible but very real.
The PReViX project is committed to responding effectively to this call by developing research protocols and analytical tools that can be deployed immediately upon the first suspected cases. Through an interdisciplinary approach, it aims to provide public policymakers and healthcare professionals with reliable, real-time analytical tools that enable rapid, science-based decision-making. Epidemic forecasting, genomic surveillance, and analysis of immune dynamics: everything is designed to accelerate the response to future respiratory threats, thereby limiting the burden on the healthcare system and the need for the most restrictive countermeasures.
A cutting-edge consortium for an integrated scientific response
The strength of the PReViX project lies in the diversity of its consortium, which brings together complementary expertise in epidemiology, modeling, virology, infectious diseases, public health, genomics, and the social sciences. The project’s six strategic priorities cover the entire spectrum of the scientific response: early assessment of pandemic potential, targeting of screening and vaccination policies, improvement of genomic analysis tools, epidemic forecasting based on antigenic data, design of early non-pharmaceutical interventions, and rapid adaptation of the healthcare system based on the pathogen’s characteristics.
This integrated approach will not only yield high-quality scientific results but also strengthen the country’s capacity for anticipation and response in the long term. The project also aims to establish and sustain a French community of excellence in quantitative approaches to infectious diseases, while fostering the emergence of a new generation of researchers trained in these transdisciplinary issues.
Close collaboration between research, public health, and policy-making
Working closely with Santé publique France, the Vaccine Research Institute, the FHU TIE, and several biomedical learned societies, PReViX aims to build a solid bridge between basic research and operational decision-making. It will help produce concrete, up-to-date risk assessments that are useful to health authorities in crisis situations. By focusing on collaborative development, data transparency, and responsiveness, the project is fully aligned with a forward-looking public health approach.
More than just a scientific project, PReViX is an operational framework for proactively responding to future public health emergencies. By preparing France to confront emerging respiratory threats, it plays an active role in building a more robust surveillance, alert, and response system, all in the service of public health.