Hundreds of experts will meet in Geneva next Tuesday and Wednesday to set research and development priorities for coronavirus drugs, diagnostics and vaccines to combat the outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
"There are no proven effective therapeutics for novel coronavirus," Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO emergencies program, told a news conference.
WHO epidemiologist Dr. Maria van Kerkhove said participants would include experts in clinical investigations and research into an animal source of the virus that emerged at a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
"We want to bring the best minds, people who have experience in this so come around a comprehensive research agenda around coronavirus," she said.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a multinational WHO-led team would go to China very soon to work with Chinese authorities in tackling the outbreak. He gave no details.