CEPI turns 7

Seven years ago, CEPI was launched as an "insurance policy" against emerging infectious disease threats. Our vision then, as it now, is to create a world where epidemics and pandemics no longer pose a threat to humanity.

We owe our existence thanks to the forward-thinking support of our founding members, including Norway, India, The Gates Foundation, Wellcome, the World Economic Forum, and, of course, the generous investment from donors worldwide (30+ and counting!).

We were launched with the goal of accelerating vaccine development against epidemic and pandemic threats, including ‘Disease X'. Disease X is a placeholder name given by scientists and the World Health Organization to an unknown pathogen that could emerge in future and cause a serious international epidemic or pandemic. Just three years after our formation, we faced our first major Disease X challenge in the form of COVID-19. In January 2020, when there were only 581 cases worldwide and within a couple of weeks of the genetic sequences of the then-novel coronavirus being made available, we swiftly announced our first three COVID-19 vaccine partnerships.

Today, CEPI has one of the world's largest portfolios of COVID-19 vaccines, with four of them actively saving lives around the globe. Ensuring equitable access to these vaccines is at the core of our mission, and we’re proud of the role we played in co-creating and co-leading COVAX. By late 2023, nearly 2 billion doses had been delivered to 146 countries, averting an estimated 2.7 million deaths in low- and middle-income countries.

COVAX may now have come to an end, but CEPI’s commitment to enabling equitable access to the lifesaving innovations it supports remains steadfast. We are living in a new era of epidemic and pandemic risk, evidenced by the increasing prevalence, speed and spread of outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging diseases. Indeed, the threat of another Disease X outbreak looms large and climate change is only further exacerbating this risk.

But we are not powerless against this threat; there is hope in the form of the 100 Days Mission. CEPI’s vision is for the world to be able to respond to the next Disease X with a new vaccine in 100 days. Achieving that goal could defuse the threat of a pathogen with pandemic potential, helping to avert the catastrophic social and economic impacts we witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can read our “What Will It Take” report to learn about the 100 Days Mission and the 5 areas of innovation needed to make delivery of pandemic vaccines within 100 days a reality.

We're already making strides toward this goal by establishing the world's largest laboratory network and aiding in the establishment of global vaccine manufacturing capacity.

Our investments are improving disease surveillance, supporting scientific research around the world, and advancing over 50 investments in vaccine candidates – including various platform technologies - against priority pathogens like Chikungunya, COVID-19, Ebola, Lassa fever, MERS, Nipah and Rift Valley fever. So far, we've committed around $2.6 billion to research partnerships across the globe.

Let’s zoom in on a few of these…

• We've supported the first-ever approved Chikungunya vaccine. Now we’re focusing on making this vaccine accessible to those in at-risk regions.
• CEPI and its partners are supporting the largest-ever study of Lassa fever in West Africa and has 3 Lassa vaccine candidates in clinical testing, while simultaneously supporting regional partners to bolster their research preparedness infrastructure.
• We’ve helped to progress 3 vaccine candidates against Nipah virus into clinical trials – including one last week, with a Phase 1 first-in-human trial for a Nipah virus vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford’s Pandemic Sciences Institute.

And that’s just to name a few.

Alongside all this, we have even published our first book, DISEASE X – The 100 Days Mission to End Pandemics. Written by CEPI’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Kate Kelland, this compelling read explores how, through better preparedness, we can realise the 100 Days Mission ambition.

As CEPI turns 7, we reflect on our journey so far, celebrate our achievements, and prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. A future where pandemics are no longer a threat to humanity is possible and CEPI stands ready to work with our global partners to make this bold vision a reality.

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