CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations)

“Pandemic preparedness initiatives should be urgently resourced and implemented... Enhancing readiness now can save lives and reduce societal and economic disruption if H5N1 or another outbreak becomes a pandemic.” In a?letter to Science Magazine, CEPI’s Executive Director for Preparedness and Response, Dr Nicole Lurie, and six other experts say the rapid spread and mutation of a deadly bird flu virus in the United States warrants urgent global action on pandemic preparedness to close dangerous gaps in the world’s ability to develop and deliver new protective vaccines. The experts outlined three critical efforts that they said?should begin now in preparation for a potential wider human outbreak of H5N1. Find out what these are ?? https://lnkd.in/e62e7mfh

Listen to Algenex CEO?Jose Escribano as he?explains how their innovative moth chrysalis technology, which acts as a living bioreactor, could help to scale up rapid access to vaccines during future pandemics. Already used in some animal vaccines,?ALGENEX S.L’s CrisBio? technology?modifies a type of harmless insect virus with instructions to produce an antigen. This is then inserted into a moth chrysalis grown in a laboratory, which causes the insect cells to generate large quantities of antigens much faster than existing bioreactor technologies can. With CEPI's funding, they've applied this technology to a flu pathogen to demonstrate proof-of-concept for producing an antigen quality suitable to be administered in humans ?? Read more about CEPI's manufacturing innovations in our recently published blog: https://lnkd.in/eAZEAEMG

Last week,?Richard Hatchett?and?Aurélia Nguyen?had the pleasure of meeting with Norway's Minister of International Development,??smund Aukrust?and State Secretary Stine Renate H?heim, as well as with CEO of?Norce?Camilla Stoltenberg?and CEO of?Langsikt?Eirik Mofoss?to discuss challenges and opportunities for global health security in the changing landscape of global health. Norway is a founding partner of CEPI and one of the organizations biggest investors. We are deeply grateful to our Norwegian partners for their continued commitment to strengthening global health preparedness and unwavering support for CEPI from the very beginning.

CEPI's February newsletter is now available ??? Dive in to learn more about how taking a viral family approach could help the world get ahead of a future pandemic, the latest vaccine manufacturing partnerships helping to ensure a fast and equitable response to outbreak threats, insights from CEPI's Global South Fellows and plenty more. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already!

The viruses that have historically put humanity at the greatest risk come from around 25 or so viral families. It’s from one of these families that the next potential pandemic disease threat—the next Disease X—will likely emerge. Some of the viruses in these families can already be prevented or treated with vaccines or therapies. Many others can’t. But, by taking a ‘viral family approach’, the world doesn’t need to develop countermeasures against each and every one of these viruses. Instead, by using representative viruses within viral families, experts deepen their understanding of how to counter current and future members of that family—developing knowledge that can be quickly adapted to novel emerging viruses. The Viral Most Wanted series, by CEPI’s Chief Scientific Writer Kate Kelland, is guided by this viral family approach. This engaging and accessible series—complemented by visuals—guides the reader through existing knowledge on the most threatening viral families, including their prime suspects, how they spill over from animals to people and, crucially, the lines of enquiry being pursued to prevent some of these pathogens wreaking havoc on humanity. ?? Learn more about the viral family approach: https://lnkd.in/ebZVBWXY ?? Explore the now-complete Viral Most Wanted series: https://lnkd.in/ez_rvJm8

? What does your morning coffee and vaccine technology have in common? More than you might think! Thank you to CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) for including us in this recent article spotlighting #pandemic-busting innovations such as Vaxxas’ high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) technology. At Vaxxas, we’re proud of the work we’re doing with #CEPI to increase access globally to life-saving vaccines by stabilising mRNA vaccines on our HD-MAP, reducing the need for ultra-cold chain storage and distribution. To ensure the safe and effective delivery of our vaccine-coated HD-MAP technology to the skin, we’ve taken inspiration from the precision of the humble coffee capsule to develop an applicator device that can be manufactured in large volumes, at low cost to meet high-quality standards. Find out more ?? https://lnkd.in/eAZEAEMG? #Vaxxas #MedicalInnovation #Vaccines

Underscoring the African Union's goal to produce over 60 percent of the vaccines needed for Africa’s population locally by 2040 is a resilient and sustainable supply chain for the many specialised materials that go into making vaccines. CEPI has been supporting Africa CDC in its efforts to establish such a supply chain capable of delivering the 60 percent goal. Building on the first African Vaccine Manufacturing Supply Chain Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, last year, new CEPI-funded research, which interviewed vaccine material suppliers and African vaccine manufacturers, illuminates multiple possible solutions to begin to realise this supply chain, including: ?? Strengthening supplier-manufacture collaboration ?? Localising critical materials ?? Diversifying production by adding fill-and-finish products Learn more ?? https://lnkd.in/gdnmQejA

?? At this year’s Munich Security Conference, CEPI spotlighted how we are working towards the #100DaysMission to prepare for future epidemic and pandemic threats - however and wherever they may occur. With biosecurity and biosafety essential to achieving this goal safely and securely, CEPI, Brown University Pandemic Center and Nuclear Threat Initiative, in partnership with Foreign Policy, hosted 'Mission Possible! Fast-tracking biosecurity and the 100 Days Mission roundtable with next-generation leaders across the Global South'. The inspiring discussion culminated in the creation of a new declaration, issued by a group of Global South Biosecurity Game Changers. It calls on global partners to urgently accelerate actions to ensure biosafety and biosecurity are integral components of the?100 Days Mission?and of the global life science research and biotechnology sectors: https://lnkd.in/epg8GzgN CEPI's Chair Jane Halton AO PSM FAICD, said: "Current and future leaders, including from the Global South, must grapple with the pace of emerging technologies and the sheer multitude of emergencies like H5N1, Ebola, and Marburg to find solutions that can be driven and implemented across generations and geographies in support of the bold ambition to take biological threats off the table.” CEPI Director of Biosecurity, Andrew Hebbeler, also participated in the ‘Protecting the World from Pathogens: Biosecurity in the age of transformational tech' panel discussion as part of Foreign Policy’s Emerging Threats forum. The CEPI Team joined a number of other events and discussions highlighting the links between climate change and health security, safeguarding emerging technologies, and the need for collaboration between the health and security sectors to protect society from infectious disease threats. Discover more: https://lnkd.in/epg8GzgN

What do a coffee pod, a pen, a moth chrysalis and a plant have to do with solving vaccine access challenges? These are some of the ordinary things inspiring extraordinary solutions to increase how quickly vaccines against future viral threats could be manufactured and given to all those in need. CEPI has invested in 15 proof-of-concept vaccine manufacturing innovations in a bid to one day produce a vaccine platform that can deliver the 100 Days Mission - a goal to produce pandemic-busting vaccines within 100 days of a novel viral outbreak being identified. And the inspiration behind these new technologies has come from some wholly unexpected places ???????? Learn more ?? https://lnkd.in/eAZEAEMG

"India has faced eight Nipah virus outbreaks, yet we lack modelling studies tailored to the Indian context to effectively guide our policies. That's where my project comes in." Applying her extensive experience in outbreak response and biosecurity, Dr. Rima Rakeshkumar Sahay explains how her Global South Fellowship with CEPI’s Epidemiology and Data Science team could help India to combat future Nipah outbreaks more effectively. Read the Q&A blog to learn more about Dr Sahay's Fellowship experience, the skills shared and the knowledge gained so far ?? https://lnkd.in/eVzQCNGq Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) National Institute Of Virology - India