Fondation Mérieux

The FM was created in 1967 by Doctor Charles Mérieux, in homage to his father Marcel Mérieux, pupil of Louis Pasteur and founder of the Institut Mérieux in 1897. It was recognized in French law as "for public utility" in 1976.{{cite web | language = fr | title = Histoire | url = https://www.fondation-merieux.org/qui-nous-sommes/histoire/ | website = Fondation Mérieux | date = 2013-09-17 | access-date = 2019-08-08}}

The foundation is present in 18 countries such as Mali, Cambodia, Laos and Haiti. and builds its projects with the health authorities and local partners.{{cite web | language = fr | title = Where we work | url = https://www.fondation-merieux.org/ou-nous-travaillons/ | website = Fondation Mérieux | date = 2013-09-17 | access-date = 2019-08-08}}

In October 2004, the FM was the beneficiary of a Franco-Chinese agreement that led to the creation of the Institut Pasteur de Shanghai and the donation of four truck-trailer BSL-3 laboratories, supplied by Labover.{{cite journal |last1=Gras |first1=Gabriel |title=Analyse: Maladies Infectueuses - Priorité de la coopération scientifique franco-chinoise |journal=Connexions73web |date=1 June 2015 |volume=Quand la Chine fait sa revolution |pages=28–30 |url=https://issuu.com/ccifc/docs/connexions73web |publisher=French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China}}

In 2012, the FM continued its partnership with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The partnership, which is renewed by contract every five years, was begun with Phase I in 2007. In this case, the FM was interested in the study of tuberculosis. Inter alia, Phase I of the CAMS-FM partnership funds trained "132 laboratory professionals at national, prefectural et and municipal levels."{{cite news |date=24 April 2012 |url=https://www.fondation-merieux.org/en/actualites/fondation-merieux-continues-its-collaboration-with-the-chinese-ministry-of-health-and-the-chinese-academy-of-medical-sciences/ |title=fondation-merieux-continues-its-collaboration-with-the-chinese-ministry-of-health-and-the-chinese-academy-of-medical-sciences}}

In 2015, the CAMS-FM partnership founded the Christophe Mérieux Laboratory (CML) at the Institute of Pathogen Biology in Beijing to focus on the study pneumonia and tuberculosis. Researchers at the CML "benefit from and training modules developed by the Emerging Pathogens Laboratory in Lyon",{{cite news |title=CHINA |url=https://www.fondation-merieux.org/en/ou-nous-travaillons/china/ |accessdate=1 September 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://ciri.inserm.fr/en/team/all-teams/emerging-pathogens-laboratory/research-themes/|title=CIRI: EMERGING PATHOGENS LABORATORY / RESEARCH THEMES|access-date=1 September 2020|archive-date=26 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826034713/http://ciri.inserm.fr/en/team/all-teams/emerging-pathogens-laboratory/research-themes/|url-status=dead}} a BSL-4 lab which was also built by the FM in 1999 and since 2005 is now operated by INSERM.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fondation-merieux.org/en/what-we-do/enhancing-research-capabilities/research-laboratories/jean-merieux-inserm-p4-laboratory/|title=P4 Jean Mérieux-Inserm Laboratory|date=17 September 2013|website=Mérieux Foundation}}

In 2015, the FM participated in the donation by the French government of CIRI's Biosafety Level 4 expertise to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.{{cite web |title=China Inaugurates the first biocontainment level 4 laboratory in Wuhan |url=http://english.whiov.cas.cn/News/Events/201502/t20150203_135923.html |publisher=Chinese Academy of Sciences |date=2015-02-03 |access-date=19 April 2020 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215545/http://english.whiov.cas.cn/News/Events/201502/t20150203_135923.html |url-status=dead }} This laboratory was accused by the leak of Covid-19, but there was not found any direct evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was inside a laboratory in Wuhan before the pandemic, although the lab has not released its records, which have been sought by scientists and governments around the world.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/24/covid-origins-biden-intelligence-review/ |title=Biden receives inconclusive intelligence report on covid origins |date=2021-08-25 |author1=Ellen Nakashima |author2=Yasmeen Abutaleb |author3=Joel Achenbach |newspaper=The Washington Post |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}

In January 2017, a researcher who was financed by the CAMS-FM partnership participated in a study of human rhinovirus and genotype A21.{{Cite journal|title=Genotyping of human rhinovirus in adult patients with acute respiratory infections identified predominant infections of genotype A21|author1=Ren, Lili|author2=Yang, Donghong|author3=Ren, Xianwen|author4=Li, Mingkun|author5=Mu, Xinlin|author6=Wang, Qi|author7=Cao, Jie|author8=Hu, Ke|author9=Yan, Chunliang|author10=Fan, Hongwei|author11=Li, Xiangxin|author12=Chen, Yusheng|author13=Wang, Ruiqin|author14=An, Fucheng|author15=An, Shuchang|author16=Luo, Ming|author17=Wang, Ying|author18=Xiao, Yan|author19=Xiang, Zichun|author20=Xiao, Yan|author21=Li, Li|author22=Huang, Fang|author23=Jin, Qi|author24=Gao, Zhancheng|author25=Wang, Jianwei|year=2017|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=7|issue=1|page=41601|doi=10.1038/srep41601|pmid=28128353|pmc=5269714|bibcode=2017NatSR...741601R}}

In July 2020, it was announced that a researcher employed at the CAMS-FM participated in the development of a low-cost COVID-19 screening test, which uses a variant of the CRISPR technology.{{cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.1008705|title = Development and evaluation of a rapid CRISPR-based diagnostic for COVID-19|year = 2020|last1 = Hou|first1 = Tieying|last2 = Zeng|first2 = Weiqi|last3 = Yang|first3 = Minling|last4 = Chen|first4 = Wenjing|last5 = Ren|first5 = Lili|last6 = Ai|first6 = Jingwen|last7 = Wu|first7 = Ji|last8 = Liao|first8 = Yalong|last9 = Gou|first9 = Xuejing|last10 = Li|first10 = Yongjun|last11 = Wang|first11 = Xiaorui|last12 = Su|first12 = Hang|last13 = Gu|first13 = Bing|last14 = Wang|first14 = Jianwei|last15 = Xu|first15 = Teng|journal = PLOS Pathogens|volume = 16|issue = 8|pages = e1008705|pmid = 32853291|pmc = 7451577|s2cid = 221358467|doi-access = free}}

The FM plays a role in the fight against infectious diseases by intervening in various areas:

• Increase access to diagnosis because diagnosis is an essential tool for surveillance and control of diseases.{{cite web | language = fr | title = Increase access to diagnosis | url = https://www.fondation-merieux.org/ce-que-nous-faisons/accroitre-acces-diagnostic/ | website = Fondation Mérieux | date = 2013-09-17 | access-date = 2019-08-08}}
• Reinforce research capacities, in particular by training teams on site and by setting up a research program.{{cite web | language = fr | title = Reinforce research capacities | url = https://www.fondation-merieux.org/ce-que-nous-faisons/renforcer-capacites-recherche/ | website = Fondation Mérieux | date = 2013-09-17 | access-date = 2019-08-08}}
• Exchange and share knowledge, for the dissemination of global medical advances{{cite web | language = fr | title = Exchange and share knowledge | url = https://www.fondation-merieux.org/ce-que-we-do/exchange-share-knowledge/ | website = Fondation Mérieux | date = 2013-09-17 | access-date = 2019-08-08 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• Acting for mother and child, the most vulnerable to infectious diseases{{cite web | language = fr | title = Acting for Mother and Child | url = https://www.fondation-merieux.org/what-we-do/act-for-mother-child/ | website = Fondation Mérieux | date = 2013-09-17 | access-date = 2019-08-08 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

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• Mérieux Family

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Category:Mérieux family

Category:Medical and health foundations

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Category:1967 establishments in France

Category:Organizations established in 1967