University of Liverpool Honoured for Pandemic Innovations That Shaped Testing, Treatment and Clinical Guidance

University of Liverpool Honoured for Pandemic Innovations That Shaped Testing, Treatment and Clinical Guidance

(IN BRIEF) The University of Liverpool has won the Best Public Sector Innovation award at the 2026 Prix Galien UK Awards for its three major COVID-19 response innovations: the SMART community testing programme, the ISARIC clinical characterisation study and the AGILE therapeutics trial platform. SMART delivered the world’s first voluntary COVID-19 mass testing pilot using lateral flow devices in Liverpool in November 2020, increasing case detection by a fifth, reducing known cases by a fifth and contributing to a quarter reduction in COVID-19 hospitalisations. ISARIC, co-led by Professor Calum Semple, became the world’s largest prospective study of hospitalised COVID-19 patients, gathering data from more than 300,000 patients and informing SAGE, NERVTAG, WHO guidance and vaccine development. AGILE, led by Professor Saye Khoo, pioneered a faster early-phase clinical trial model for COVID-19 antivirals and supported the licensing of major treatments, while the Liverpool COVID-19 Drug Interactions tool became a global reference used across 220 countries. The award recognises how Liverpool’s public health partnerships, civic trust, data infrastructure and clinical research capacity enabled rapid, large-scale responses during the pandemic.

(PRESS RELEASE) LIVERPOOL, 12-Jun-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — The University of Liverpool has received the Best Public Sector Innovation award at the 2026 Prix Galien UK Awards, recognising three major contributions to the national and international response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The award honours the University’s COVID-19 Response Trio: the SMART community testing programme, the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium clinical characterisation study, known as ISARIC, and the AGILE therapeutics trial platform.

The Prix Galien, established in 1970, is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious awards in life sciences. The UK awards recognise health innovations developed in the country that make a meaningful contribution to improving human health. The award was presented at a ceremony held at the Natural History Museum in London on June 11, 2026.

Liverpool’s SMART programme, short for Systematic Meaningful Asymptomatic Repeated Testing, played a major role in shaping the understanding and use of community testing during the pandemic. The programme increased case detection by one fifth, reduced known cases by one fifth and contributed to a quarter reduction in COVID-19 hospitalisations. Its evidence directly informed the UK’s COVID-19 Community Testing programme and influenced policies internationally.

Professor Iain Buchan, who led the SMART mass testing research, said the award reflects the contribution made by Liverpool’s residents and researchers to the global pandemic response. He said the city’s willingness to volunteer for testing during difficult conditions in November 2020 provided vital scientific evidence at a time of uncertainty and misinformation.

Liverpool delivered the world’s first voluntary COVID-19 mass testing pilot using lateral flow devices in November 2020. The city was facing the UK’s highest incidence of COVID-19 hospitalisation, alongside high levels of poverty and the impact of lockdown measures. At that time, little was known about asymptomatic transmission and rapid testing had not yet been proven at population scale.

A quarter of Liverpool’s population volunteered for supervised self-testing within the first month, and half of the city’s population eventually took part. Working with Liverpool City Council, the NHS and 2,000 troops from the British Army, the Liverpool-led partnership mobilised in five days and delivered policy-shaping evidence within five weeks.

The pilot was supported by rapid data and digital infrastructure development. The Combined Intelligence for Population Health Action system, known as CIPHA, brought together GP, hospital and COVID-19 testing data for a population of 2.7 million. It was deployed in just 90 days in the summer of 2020, creating an infrastructure that has since been sustained through the University’s Civic Health Innovation Labs and the Data into Action programme for Cheshire and Merseyside.

The award also recognises ISARIC, co-led by Professor Calum Semple, Professor of Child Health and Outbreak Medicine at the University of Liverpool. ISARIC created the world’s largest prospective study of hospitalised COVID-19 patients. It was activated on January 17, 2020, before the UK recorded its first case, and gathered data from more than 300,000 patients.

ISARIC submitted its first clinical report to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies by March 10, 2020. Its findings informed more than 150 SAGE and New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group meetings, as well as World Health Organisation clinical guidance and vaccine development. Its 4C Mortality Score became a widely used tool for hospital risk stratification around the world.

Professor Semple said the recognition reflects the foresight and commitment of the UK ISARIC team in preparing for a major public health emergency. He said the national clinical research response was world-leading and helped save lives.

The third programme recognised by the award is AGILE, led by Professor Saye Khoo, Director of the Centre for Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Liverpool. AGILE introduced a new early-phase clinical trial model for experimental COVID-19 antivirals, combining Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies with advanced mathematical modelling to support faster decision-making using fewer participants.

AGILE delivered first-in-human and dose-optimisation studies for treatments including molnupiravir. Its data also supported the licensing of remdesivir, molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. The related Liverpool COVID-19 Drug Interactions tool has become a global benchmark, supporting around eight million searches each year across 220 countries.

Professor Khoo said Liverpool researchers responded to an unprecedented challenge with innovation, hard work and a belief that science could play a decisive role in the pandemic response.

Together, SMART, ISARIC and AGILE demonstrate how long-term investment in public health partnerships, civic trust, clinical research and data infrastructure enabled Liverpool to act quickly and at scale during the pandemic.

The University said the award reflects the combined efforts of researchers, residents, public health partners and clinical teams whose work helped shape public health policy, clinical guidance and treatment development during one of the most significant health emergencies in modern history.

Media Contact:

pressoffice@liverpool.ac.uk

SOURCE: University of Liverpool