ASCENT
Acceleration of Novel Coronavirus Serological Test Development and Seroprevalence Study: An African-European Initiative
Acceleration of Novel Coronavirus Serological Test Development and Seroprevalence Study: An African-European Initiative (ASCENT is a project funded by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). ASCENT brings together scientists from three SSA countries including South Africa, Guinea and Burkina-Faso and three European countries including France, the Netherlands and Switzerland in response to the public health emergency of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic.
The project focuses on the following objectives:
1) To transfer and implement in the field a sensitive and reproducible Luminex-based serologic test against SARS-CoV-2;
2) To transfer and implement in the field a luciferase reporter-based VSV-SARS-CoV-2 pseudo-virus neutralizing antibody assay;
3) To conduct cross-sectional observational study in South Africa, Burkina Faso and Guinea, and generate seroprevalence data as well as prevalence of neutralizing antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 infected donors;
4) To build a mathematical model of the epidemics.
The project is coordinated by Institute National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM). EVF provides the scientific project management support to the program.