THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A prime example of versatility, problem-solving, and teamwork - BioWin
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IN CLOSE
COLLABORATION WITH
THE WALLOON
RESPONSE TO THE
2020 COVID-19
PANDEMIC:
A prime example of
versatility,
problem-solving, and
teamwork
SEPTEMBER 2020
INTRODUCTION
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) While the significant knowledge gaps with regards
pandemic is undoubtedly the greatest challenge to the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and the ever
global health systems have faced in 2020. changing epidemiological and social parameters
of the crisis have proven to be undeniable
Like other European countries, Belgium was challenges, the various actors underlying the
strongly impacted and the surge in infections in Walloon response have risen to the task and,
the Spring prompted the government to enforce collectively, provided invaluable support towards
a historical nationwide lockdown on the 18th of controlling the repercussions of the pandemic in
March. our country.
Faced with this unprecedented health crisis, Our aim here is to provide a summary of the
governing entities and members of the Walloon most impactful Walloon initiatives taken or being
Health and Life Sciences ecosystem showed developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis,
a remarkable reactivity, agility and creativity and showcase the efforts, and exceptional spirit
in their response to the pandemic. Universities of innovation and collaboration of all the actors
as well as companies, both large and small, involved.
mobilised and offered creative solutions to the
numerous problematics arising from the crisis If you would like to add an initiative, don’t hesitate
through numerous national and international to contact us.
collaborations and initiatives.
Philippe Denoel
Playing an important role in structuring the Chairman of the Board of BioWin
ecosystem since its creation in 2005, BioWin and Head of External R&D at GSK Vaccines
contributed to rapidly activate Walloon
resources, identify expertise and talents needed
for the projects being initiated, and facilitate Sylvie Ponchaut
collaborations between the different actors. Managing Director at BioWin
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORK
AVOIDING SHORTAGE:
EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS PRODUCTION AND DECONTAMINATION
The worrying possibility that the country would be fa- surgical masks for use in hospitals, care homes, and & Health Products (FAMHP) in an operation coordinated
cing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), other medical environments. Several other Belgian by the University of Liège (ULiège) at the request of
in particular first-line equipment such as hydroalcoho- companies (including Zenitude, Belgium Mask, and Minister Borsus’ office. Industrial partners involved in
lic gel and masks, came to light as early as February Weimat in Wallonia) also took part in the mask produc- this initiative included Lasea, a company specialized in
2020, when the first COVID-19 cases were diagnosed tion efforts. Moreover, as they did for the hydroalcoho- UV decontamination methods, Sterigenics, a company
in Belgium and it became apparent that no European lic gel, other firms and institutions shared their stocks providing ethylene oxide decontamination methods,
country would be spared from the rapidly spreading of masks with frontline workers. and AMB Ecosteril, a leader in medical waste treatment
pandemic. and management of infectious risk using a dry heat de-
The major initiatives undertaken in Wallonia are listed Thereafter, tackling the issue of mask shortage in an al- contamination method. A partnership between Aseptic
below according to type of equipment. ternative way, SalamanderU (specialised in innovative technologies, Optec Laser System, and Lasea led to
custom-made containment solutions and in biotech- the development of a mask sterilisation method with
Hydroalcoholic gel nological industrial operations), in collaboration with hydrogen peroxide. Finally, the Materia Nova research
Early in March, when over 50 active cases had already Solidfog Technologies (specialised in aerial deconta- centre tested a plasma-based mask decontamination
been identified in Belgium, the federal government mination), provided solutions for FFP mask disinfection process. The Centexbel research centre contributed to
launched a call for tenders to circumvent the shortage through the combination of a proprietary confinement the aforementioned initiatives by testing the effective-
of hydroalcoholic gel. The Tirlemont Refinery and its chamber and decontamination device. ness of these novel decontamination methods.
Belgian partners of the Südzucker group began the pro-
duction of hydroalcoholic gel from wheat and beetroot According to Claude Dedry, SalamanderU’s Chief Exe- Other initiatives arose to limit the risk of contamina-
ethanol. Other companies and institutions provided cutive Officer (CEO), the company aims to implement tion. Synergia Medical started the manufacturing and
alcohol, hydroalcoholic gel, or gel packaging to medical these products in developing countries currently facing supply of face shields for medical staff. BeMicron, a
and care centres in the country. the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic: “We are in spin-out of Scaldis company specialised in protective
contact with Bill’ Gates’ non-governmental organiza- clothing for the pharmaceutical industry, began produ-
Masks and face shields tion, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health cing visor-integrated hoods to provide the medical per-
A call for tenders was also initiated with the aim of (PATH). They are interested in deploying our technolo- sonnel with a safe and reusable alternative to surgical
facing low supplies of both surgical and filtering face- gy, notably in African countries affected by the pande- masks or face shields.
piece (FFP) masks. Deltrian, a Fleurus-based company mic but lacking sufficient decontamination resources.”
specialised in air filter production, was selected by the Alternative mask decontamination processes were
government to ensure the large-scale manufacturing of tested and approved by the Federal Agency for Medicine
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORK
Respirators
As the pandemic spread in Belgium, it was paramount developed by Any-Shape and Spentys, these initiatives
to ensure there were adequate supplies of functioning did not receive FAMHP approval.
respirators to deal with the increasing number of se-
vere COVID-19 cases. The aeronautic company Coex- Swabs
pair, with the support of the Sabca and Sonaca, dedi- Alongside efforts to ensure adequate SARS-CoV-2
cated a part of its workforce and resources to ensure polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing capacity (dis-
the rapid manufacturing of spare parts for respirators. cussed in the ‘Diagnosis’ section), two independent
While creative solutions were also proposed by several initiatives to be mentioned are those led by Any-Shape
Belgian universities, such as the ventilator-mask proto- and 3D-side, who launched the large-scale production
type developed by the OpenHub innovations laboratory of FAMHP-compliant swabs to collect nasopharyngeal
of the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), or samples from patients for SARS-CoV-2 testing.
the 3D printing of spare parts for respirators
SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL WALLOON INITIATIVES *
* Not exhaustive
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORK
DIAGNOSIS & TESTING CAPACITY
Test development with Wallonia-based firms, namely Sirris, Méthodes et Testing capacity
Several academic laboratories contributed to the ef- Techniques d'Usinage (MTU), and HTP Europe. Under the impulse of the ‘testing’ Federal Task Force,
forts towards obtaining PCR testing methodologies which aimed to raise the number of tests to over 25,000
to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 viral ribo- In parallel to these initiatives, the Gembloux-based a week, several public and private sector actors contri-
nucleic acid (RNA) in nasopharyngeal swabs samples. company Coris BioConcept, building on its prior expe- buted to the country’s increase in testing capacity.
In an ambitious volunteer-driven project called SANA rience with the 2003–2004 SARS virus epidemic, in a
(SARS-CoV-2 Namur) initiated in March 2020, the Uni- partnership with the Belgian firms BioX and Unisensor, Thanks to their greater flexibility, an important part of
versity of Namur (UNamur) developed a high-quality developed a method that could detect the presence of the testing effort was initially carried by the Universities
diagnostic test that was approved by the FAMHP for viral antigens in nasopharyngeal swab samples and es- of the Wallonie-Bruxelles federation. First, the UNamur
public use. tablish of a diagnosis in only 15 minutes. This method applied the testing methods they developed, and the
was used in Belgian hospitals as early as the end of University of Mons (UMons) devoted resources to carry
Virginie Bourguignon, Technology Transfer Officer at March to rapidly determine whether patients were in- out over 400 tests per day using the same protocol.
the UNamur, speaks of the university’s early implica- fected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Later, the ULiège contributed with the development of
tion in the testing efforts: “At the start of March, Prof. their automated testing protocol, and two diagnostic
Benoit Muylkens highlighted the need to improve the Pascal Mertens, R&D Director at Coris BioConcept, platforms were inaugurated on the Erasme (Bruxelles)
detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral infections and increase speaks about the company’s future approach to the and Gosselies (Charleroi) sites of the Université Libre
the diagnostic capacity. He therefore initiated the epidemic: “Like the influenza virus, there is a risk that de Bruxelles (ULB).
SANA project which led to the development of a testing the SARS-CoV-2 virus could stay for several years with
method. In total, over 13,000 samples were analysed seasonal variations in incidence. Hospital laboratories Thereafter, big companies, such as Janssen Pharma-
for hospitals and medical centres from mid-March, have invested a lot in the molecular testing of the virus ceutical (J&J), GSK, and UCB, but also the contract
when the test was approved by the FAMHP, to the end and will, in all likelihood, want to use these tools more research organisation Biogazelle in Flanders, installed
of June.” frequently in the future. We will therefore need to adapt large-scale testing centres (using the testing methods
our products in order to deal with this persistence of developed by the UNamur or the ULiège) on their Bel-
Following in the UNamur’s steps, the ULiège proposed the virus on the longer term, but also with the proce- gian sites. Kaneka-Eurogentec and Diagenode also
an alternative automated testing method, increasing dures and platforms that have arisen in response to the contributed to this push to increase testing by provi-
the potential testing capacity to over 30,000 daily tests. pandemic.” ding reagents and equipment to the diagnostic labo-
A noteworthy element of this test is that all reagents ratories.
and components are produced through collaborations
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORK
Several of these actors attest to the strong collabo- centres will replicate what is done at the ULiège, using was approved by FAMHP for public use in April 2020.
rative nature and overall strength of this Belgian Life materials and methods we developed. Each of these Several other companies, such as Coris BioConcept
Sciences ecosystem. platforms stems from an association between a clinical D-tek, Labomics, and Analis, have also successfully
biology laboratory and a university (Antwerp University, developed serologic testing kits.
Valérie Thomas, Global HR Lead - Supply & Technology Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), UCLou-
Solutions at UCB, reports: “We can underline the nice vain, ULB, UMons, and ULiège.” Salivary self-testing kit
collaboration that arose as part of the testing platform”. With the aim of further optimising the sampling and
Werner Verbiest, Strategic Alliances Leader at J&J, Testing carried out by the diagnostic platforms that PCR test process, the ULiège, in collaboration with Sir-
says: “I’d like to highlight the collaborations between were active in the spring decreased once the progres- ris, MTU, HTP Europe, KUM Technic, and Diagenode,
the different actors: companies, laboratories, universi- sion of the epidemic was curbed. However, several also developed in September a salivary sampling kit.
ties, hospitals, with excellent clinicians and scientists. I laboratories, including GSK, J&J and UCB, remained The use of this kit would decrease the need for trained
also witnessed the unbridled efforts of the employees, active in case infections increased once again, as well personnel and strict laboratory conditions required to
who worked around the clock to set up the testing labs. as to ensure the continuity of testing during the tran- avoid contamination during processing of the samples.
It was a fantastic partnership on the Belgian level. You sition to the new federal testing platforms. In addition,
couldn’t figure out who was working for which company others diagnostic platforms, such as the UNamur, are The benefit of this kit with regards to the testing pro-
or organisation. It was just one team; it was an incre- still working behind the scenes. cess is further highlighted by Prof. Fabrice Bureau,
dible teamwork. The virus affects us all. It doesn’t care Vice-Rector for research of the ULiège: “The sampling
if you are a man or a woman, or if you speak French or Virginie Bourguignon of the UNamur tells us about the is carried out by the patients themselves and the virus
Dutch; it doesn’t differentiate based on your ethnicity. University’s focus now that the majority of testing has neutralization step is done within the tube, so the la-
A similar dynamic appeared within the testing teams: shifted towards clinical laboratories: “The cost- and boratory sample processing can directly start on the
scientists from everywhere worked diligently together equipment-efficient testing protocol developed by the following step: viral RNA extraction.”
to find solutions.” UNamur is actively being shared internationally with
twenty-eight countries, and many more have also
In anticipation of a possible increase in SARS-CoV-2 placed requests for the method.”
infections in the autumn, testing will shift from the afo-
rementioned actors to a federal ‘bis’ testing platform Serologic testing
with a capacity to perform around 40,000 tests each With regards to serologic testing (i.e. detection of an-
day in several different sites. tibodies indicating the patient was in contact with the
virus), the Liège-based biotech Zentech, in collabora-
In September, Prof. Fabrice Bureau of the ULiège tells tion with the Chinese laboratory Zheda, developed a
us about these new platforms: “The new ‘bis’ testing rapid immunoglobulin (Ig) G/IgM detection test, which
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORK
SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL WALLOON INITIATIVES *
* Not exhaustive
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORK
TREATMENT DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION
Vaccine development With the aim of supporting the development of multiple Along similar lines, the federal government has invested
Three BioWin member companies are currently invol- adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine candidates, GSK will be- in a project aiming to accelerate vaccine development,
ved in international collaborations to develop a vaccine gin the manufacturing of 1 billion doses of the vaccine as explained by Oberdan Leo, Vice-Rector for research
against the virus. adjuvant system in 2021 at its largest vaccine produc- at the ULB: “The ULB and the University of Antwerp will
tion site in Wavre. However, the company does not ex- join forces to inaugurate a virus inoculation and vac-
GSK is collaborating with companies and research pect to make any monetary profits from the portfolio of cine testing centre to prepare for future pandemics.
groups across the world to produce promising CO- collaborations initiated during the pandemic. This unit should be active within 2–3 years; patient
VID-19 vaccine candidates using the innovative vac- infection in controlled conditions will be carried out in
cine adjuvant technology which was developed in Univercells has also undertaken the development of a Antwerp and immunological follow-up will be done at
Rixensart. Amongst these partnerships, it is worth COVID-19 vaccine, in collaboration with the Italian firm the ULB.”
mentioning GSK’s collaboration with Sanofi to develop Reithera and the German company Leukocare, which
an adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine, which entered clini- started trials in the summer of 2020. Other treatments
cal trials in September 2020. Alternative treatments against the disease are also
Finally, Novasep, while not involved in the development being explored. Mithra has launched a research pro-
Philippe Denoël, Head of External R&D at GSK Vac- of a vaccine, is taking part in the manufacturing of the gram investigating the potential of Estetrol as COVID-19
cines, explains the company’s approach: “Since the Astra-Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine. treatment. A treatment based on Llama antibodies de-
pandemic was declared, GSK’s strategy is to develop veloped by the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie
COVID-19 vaccines as fast as possible through col- With regards to the future of vaccine development, Phi- (VIB) spin-out ExeVir Bio is currently being produced by
laborations with external partners, where GSK would lippe Denoël (GSK) speaks of a change in approach: UCB. Clinical trials evaluating this treatment will start
offer it’s adjuvant technology. An adjuvant is added to “Getting a vaccine on the market within two years, by the end of 2020 as a collaboration between United
some vaccines to enhance the immune response, the- instead of 10–15 years, is great, but it’s still not fast Kingdom and United States laboratories, as well as the
reby creating a stronger and longer lasting immunity enough. The solution to becoming faster is not to react Belgian government agencies and the healthcare com-
against infections than the vaccine alone. The use of an faster once the virus is there, but to be better prepared munity. The cell therapy biotech Bone Therapeutics has
adjuvant is of particular interest in the context of a pan- for its arrival. A network of all actors could contribute recently received funding from the Walloon region to
demic as it can reduce the amount of antigen required to such an anticipative effort to have pre-clinical candi- conduct trials on a treatment targeting the acute respi-
per dose, allowing more vaccine doses to be produced date vaccines ready for the day a new disease emerges ratory distress syndrome observed in severe COVID-19
and made available to more people.” that can be marketed within 6–9 months.” cases.
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORK
The Bioshield Program, stemming from a collabora- SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL WALLOON INITIATIVES *
tion between the UCLouvain and the United States
company Orgenesis, aims to research and develop a
treatment based on neutralising human antibodies that
would enable a fast response to future SARS-CoV-2
virus outbreaks. Finally, Delphi Genetics has also in-
vested resources in researching an anti-viral treatment
for infected patients.
Cédric Szpirer, CSO of Delphi Genetics, highlights the
importance of treatments other than vaccines: “Our
company’s role is not to develop drugs, we produce
compounds for others. In the face of the pandemic, we
realised certain trails were not being considered. We
therefore started working on a gene therapy treatment,
which is showing promising results in its develop-
mental phase. Even if a vaccine arrives on the market
in 2021, it will be too early to judge its efficacy or the
population’s response rate, so we will be pursuing the
development of our treatment all the same.”
* Not exhaustive
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORKTRACING & DIGITAL SOLUTIONS
From the early stages of the spread of SARS-Cov-2 in federal ‘tracing’ task force opted for an application de- SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL
our country, an important part of the epidemiological veloped by a Brussels-based firm. WALLOON INITIATIVES *
data analysis, was carried out by DNAlytics, a spin-off
from UCLouvain. This effort started as a collaboration Several other smaller scale initiatives have been taking
between DNAlytics, KULeuven and UCLouvain resear- place to develop and distribute digital solutions towar-
chers, and Savics: it aimed at providing information ds various aspects of the COVID-19 crisis.
and guidance to first-line healthcare institutions, such
as the Reference Centre from UZLeuven. This effort Andaman7 and Comunicare provided free applications
extended later on, with the procurement of dedicated aiming to inform users about the disease, and steps to
tools for the Ministry of Health to monitor hospital re- take to prevent and manage infections. Comunicare
sources. also developed an application to assist medical pro-
fessionals in the management of high-risk patients in
Damien Bertrand, Business Developer at DNAlytics, hospital environments. Eonix, in collaboration with the
also underlines the role of the company’s CEO, Thibault Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Saint-Pierre, offered an
Helleputte, in the tracing efforts: “Mr Helleputte was a online tool for assessing symptoms and providing gui-
member of the testing and tracing federal taskforce: he dance to patients.
was involved in advising the crisis management team
and specifically he contributed to the development of Osimis developed a framework for the ultrafast secure
patient tracing workflows.” sharing of medical imaging, which has been used by
medical experts throughout the world to optimise the
Keyrus Life Science, at the head of a consortium of four diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients.
universities (ULB, UCLouvain, ULiège, and the Univer-
sity of Antwerp), over twenty industrial partners and Finally, OncoRadiomics is currently leading an inter-
other Belgian Scientific entities, developed a mobile ap- national consortium (the Dragon Project, selected by
plication enabling the tracing of SARS-CoV-2-positive the Innovative Medicines Initiative), in a collaborative
patient contacts and the prediction of high-risk areas. effort to use artificial intelligence to analyse medical
While this initiative showed promise with regards to images and assist in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 in-
mapping and containing the spread of the disease, the fections. * Not exhaustive
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORKCONCLUSION
The initiatives and collaborations presented untapped potential, as much for the benefit of
above illustrate the drive and resourcefulness of patients as for the Belgian economy. In addition,
public and private sector instances of the Walloon in line with the fact that Belgium is taking a global
region. Moreover, they highlight the associated leading position in the sector of biomanufacturing,
actors as critical in meeting the material, BioWin aims to reinforce biologics production
diagnostic, treatment, and data management activities in the region, by providing support to
needs at the national level, as well as curtailing both established and developing companies, as
the health burden and economic damage resulting well as by attracting foreign actors to fill currently
from the pandemic. unexploited niches in the field.
With the benefit of several months’ hindsight, the
management of the pandemic and the Walloon
response to the outbreak also teach us two valuable
lessons. First, the aforementioned initiatives and
collaborations highlight the exceptional richness
existing in the Walloon Health and Life Sciences
ecosystem. Second, it appears that the key to a
fast and effective response to future large-scale
health crises lies in being prepared, which entails
the dedication of ecosystem resources to this
objective “now”, before the occurrence of another
pandemic.
With these points firmly in mind, in coming
years, BioWin ambitions to promote synergistic
collaborations between industrial actors and
hospitals, such as those that have arisen in
response to the pandemic, and leverage this
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORKMANAGING DIRECTOR: DIRECTOR INVESTMENT & FINANCE:
SYLVIE PONCHAUT OLIVIER POSWICK
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: HEAD OF MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT:
BIOWIN DELPHINE RAMELOT DAMIEN DIOP
TEAM DIRECTOR RESEARCH & INNOVATION MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT:
RADIATION APPLIED TO HEALTH CAROLINA HEREDIA
MEDICAL DEVICES & IN VITRO DIAGNOSTICS:
MARIANNE GHYOOT EUROPEAN PROJECTS MANAGER:
JOËLLE GAHIMBARE
DIRECTOR RESEARCH & INNOVATION
(BIO)PHARMA & BIOMANUFACTURING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
MEDICAL DEVICES & IN VITRO DIAGNOSTICS: & DIGITAL COMMUNICATION MANAGER:
THIERRY FERAIN MARINE DI VINCENZO
DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS:
MARC DECHAMPS
THE WALLOON RESPONSE TO THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF VERSATILITY, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORKSEPTEMBER 2020
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