The Rega Institute for Medical Research was chosen for the study because of its unique laboratory. "We can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The lab is fully automated; robots and equipment perform the work. This makes it possible to test thousands of medicinal samples in just a week or two at most," asserts Johan Neyts, professor of virology at the Rega Institute for Medical Research.

This speed is what makes KU Leuven's research facility such a powerful force in the fight against coronavirus. Professor Johan Neyts: "We now have a set of 15,000 molecules from the US to test, as well as 3,500 substances from a Leuven collection. We are ahead of other studies because of our unique facilities, which other labs do not have.”