How you can help

Supporting the COVID-19 effort

We’re aware that many of our members are supporting the efforts in lots of different manners, from clinical members on the front line to members sharing their expertise with policy makers to help drive decision making. If you’d like to know how you can support activity as a pharmacologist, whether via the Society or via other organisations, take a look at the calls below. These are opportunities to support either the Society, our partners or other trusted organisations to help their efforts at this time. 

Helping via the Society:

Call for Papers: Pharmacology of COVID-19
Call for Papers: BJCP
Sharing your experiences in Pharmacology Matters

Helping via other organisations:

PHE call for viable treatment submissions
DCMS call for evidence
Advising UK Parliament
Producing test kits and services
Potential viable therapies
Sharing ideas
Vaccine trials

Helping via the Society

Call for Papers: Pharmacology of COVID-19 

British Journal of Pharmacology (BJP) will be publishing a special Themed Issue on the Pharmacology of COVID-19, which aims to provide insights on preclinical or early phase mechanistic clinical studies on COVID-19 and highlight potential novel methods of diagnosis, mechanisms for susceptibility to and worse outcome of infection as well as novel options for treatment and prevention. 

Submissions to BJP as part of this Themed Issue will be fast-tracked (free of charge) and all papers accepted for this issue will be made available as free-to-read upon publication with no cost to the authors. 

Deadline for submissions is 3rd July 2020 

Call for Papers: British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 

The Society’s British Journal  of  Pharmacology has opened  a  call  for  papers  dealing   with clinical  and  translational pharmacology of drugs for COVID-19. Papers can be original studies, reviews, short communications, and letters to the editor about this subject. All COVID-19 papers accepted will be made available as free-to-read upon publication, with no cost to the author.  Find out more here 

Sharing your experiences through Pharmacology Matters 

As a Society, We recognise the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact it is having on daily life across the world. The need for global collaboration and communication is vital. The Pharmacology Matters team would love to hear from you if you would like to share your experiences and expert views in the area or have ideas for future articles for the Society’s online magazine.

Helping via other organisations

Public Health England (PHE) gathering of promising treatements

PHE are collating promising treatments for COVID-19, and inviting companies to send 
them details of potential viable therapies. PHE have provided a template submission form for this initiative. The Society's President Elect, Professor Clive Page, is supporting PHE with the coordination for these submissions.
Please send your completed template, with contact information, to: policy@bps.ac.uk

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee calling for evidence 

To tackle the deliberate spread of false information about COVID-19, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee are looking for the public to send examples of false info they find about COVID-19, particularly on private channels. This will be used to ask government and social media companies how they’re tackling these issues when the House of Commons returns. 

Call for expertise to advise UK Parliament 

The Knowledge Exchange Unit of the UK Parliament are seeking expert insights into many topics relating to COVID-19 and its impacts. If you have relevant research expertise, please join their database to help Parliament access your expertise quickly.

Producing testing kits and services 

The government is asking businesses to support the manufacture and supply of testing consumables and equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE) for laboratories, and new or existing types of coronavirus tests for antigens or antibodies to ensure an increase in the number of coronavirus tests in the UK. 

If your organisation can supply materials and equipment, they would like to hear from you.  Find the details here 

Collating information on potential viable therapies 

Public health England (PHE) are collating information on promising treatments for COVID-19, they are therefore inviting companies to send details of potential therapies. This is being supported by the Society’s President-Elect, Professor Clive Page. Please emil policy@bps.ac.uk to request a submission template. Request a template now  

Sharing your ideas 

Lord Bethell, Minister of Innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care, has shared details of dedicated hotlines that have been set up for people to share their ideas on vaccines, ventilators, innovation and technology during these times. 

Vaccines – please email Nervtag@phe.gov.uk  
Ventilators – please call +44(0)3004563565 or email ventilator.support@beis.gov.uk  Innovation and technology – please email DNHSX@nhsx.nhs.uk  

COVID-19 vaccine trials 

The University of Oxford are working to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 and are looking for help in recruiting healthy volunteers for their clinical trials. Find out more about how you can support their activities using the link below.  Find more information here