Berlin, 1 September 2025

More than 60 leading international scientists and medical professionals have signed a new Declaration. Sie fordern ein global koordiniertes Vorgehen bei der Erforschung und Entwicklung von Medikamenten für ME/CFS (Myalgische Enzephalomyelitis/Chronisches Fatigue-Syndrom) und Long COVID.

With the "International Declaration in Support of Research and Drug Development for ME/CFS and Long COVID," leading experts from 14 countries, including the United States, Japan, Australia, and Europe, have joined forces and made demands to combat these serious illnesses, for which there are still no recognised treatment options.

Prof Carmen Scheibenbogen first presented the Declaration on 12 May 2025 at the International ME/CFS Conference 2025 in Berlin. Since then, the Declaration has garnered growing international support.

Scientists call for more support from the pharmaceutical industry

The declaration highlights the growing health crisis caused by ME/CFS and Long COVID and emphasises the urgent need to advance biomedical research and drug development worldwide. In particular, governments and international bodies are called upon to prioritise research funding for these diseases.

The signatories emphasise that more clinical and translational studies are needed to investigate potential treatment options. Studies are also needed on the efficacy of drugs that have already been developed for other diseases. Incentives must be created for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to actively participate and invest in research and drug development.

Leading researchers’ comments:

Carmen Scheibenbogen (website, external link), head of the Immunodeficiency and Post-Infectious Diseases Unit and the Charité Fatigue Centre (CFC) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and initiator of the declaration, describes her motivation for a global call for increased international cooperation: “Our understanding of what is causing ME/CFS and Long COVID has made notable progress in the past five years. We are now more confident than ever in being able to identify targets for biomedical treatments. Collectively, we must now concentrate our efforts on pinpointing suitable biomarkers and developing potentially curative treatments. This needs to happen globally and in close cooperation with governments and pharmaceutical companies. As the signatories of the International Declaration, we call on all potential partners to join us in this effort.”

Ziyad Al-Aly (website, external link), Director of the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Head of the Research and Development Service at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System and Professor of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, USA, emphasises his support for the declaration: “Long COVID and ME/CFS mount a significant burden not only on healthcare systems, but also on national economies and the society at large. From a public health perspective, it is paramount that we find ways to prevent and effectively treat these conditions. The cost of inaction in this regard would simply be too high. It is essential that funding organisations and private industry answer our call and actively engage with the research and patient community to address this global challenge.”

Akiko Iwasaki (website, external link), Sterling Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University, USA, and signatory to the Declaration, emphasises the need for joint efforts in drug development: “Research and drug development in the field of Long COVID and ME/CFS must be prioritised, if we are to bring effective therapies to the people living with these conditions. I am convinced that, by joining efforts across disciplines and sectors, we will be able to make important strides in this endeavour. Harnessing the expertise and resources available to both basic science and industry will be of central importance. To this end, we are calling for establishing goal-oriented partnerships between academia, biotech and pharmaceutical industry.”

Takashi Yamamura (website, external link), Director of the Department of Immunology at the National Institute of Neuroscience and the Multiple Sclerosis Centre at the National Centre for Neurology and Psychiatry in Tokyo, Japan, who signed the declaration on 12 May, points to the need for greater international cooperation: “We are now rapidly advancing our understanding of ME/CFS and similar infections-associated conditions, including Long COVID. Against this backdrop, I believe there is a growing need for the global research community to come together and jointly elaborate on the way forward in terms of research and treatment development. I am convinced that, by pooling our knowledge and resources across countries, we can create important synergies that will ultimately help us to deliver faster on making therapies available to patients.”

David Putrino (website, external link), Professor of Rehabilitation and Human Performance at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA, who signed the declaration at the International ME/CFS Conference 2025 in Berlin, emphasises: “There is an urgent need to provide tailored medical care to the millions of people living with post-acute infection syndromes. While some efforts are already underway to find effective treatments, we urgently need more research and clinical trials to achieve timely results. As scientists and doctors, we will do our best to leverage our expertise and advance our understanding on how to diagnose, treat and ultimately prevent these conditions. Establishing partnerships with the private sector can take us a long way in achieving this.”