Molecular biology applications company New England Biolabs (NEB) announced on Tuesday that it has awarded USD100,000 to the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (VIC) at Mass General Hospital (MGH), to support the search for a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

Established in 2008, the VIC at MGH will accelerate the translation of laboratory discoveries into new, safe, broadly applicable cost-effective vaccines and therapies to prevent and cure various forms of infectious diseases, including the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19.

NEB provides reagents and technical support to researchers around the world who are working to develop new diagnostic tools and vaccines for the COVID-19 virus.