Expanding global vaccine manufacturing in pursuit of equity
CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations)
We want to stop future epidemics by developing new vaccines for a safer world.
The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, has joined CEPI’s network of vaccine producers in the Global South to support more rapid, agile and equitable responses to future epidemic and pandemic disease outbreaks.
The addition of Serum to the CEPI-backed manufacturing network will help the world to be better prepared to achieve the 100 Days Mission to develop new vaccines against infectious diseases within 100 days of a pandemic threat being recognised. Diversifying global vaccine manufacturing capacity, especially in Global South regions, will help the world respond more rapidly and more equitably to future pandemic threats, while also supporting sustainable routine vaccine manufacturing capacity in those regions.
CEPI is investing up to US$30 million to build upon Serum’s proven track record and expand its ability to swiftly supply investigational vaccines in the face of epidemic and pandemic threats. Serum becomes the fourth member to join CEPI’s growing global manufacturing network, alongside Aspen Pharma Group , Institut Pasteur de Dakar , and Bio Farma .
CEPI steps up support for regional vaccine manufacturing initiatives as host of RVMC ?
CEPI will host the Secretariat for the second phase of the Regionalized Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative (RVMC), a global partnership that is dedicated to promoting vaccine equity by supporting regional initiatives to build sustainable and resilient vaccine manufacturing networks. The RVMC has been co-chaired by CEPI, the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, and the World Economic Forum since its May 2022 launch. In its next phase of operation, the RVMC will be supported by US$15 million in CEPI funding over 3 years and led by CEPI’s current Deputy CEO, Dr Frederik Kristensen, who will assume the new role of RVMC Managing Director from 1 February 2024. RVMC partners, including Africa CDC, CEPI, NAM, PAHO and WEF, will work closely with regional leaders to enable the success of regionally-led manufacturing programmes, increase equitable access, and strengthen global pandemic preparedness.
CEPI turns 7
Seven years ago, we were launched as an “insurance policy” against emerging infectious disease threats. Our vision: a world in which epidemics and pandemics are no longer a threat to humanity. Since our inception, we’ve:
And that’s just to name a few of our achievements. With thanks to our donors and partners worldwide who make up our Coalition, we take a brief look back at what CEPI has achieved during this period.
The Viral Most Wanted – The Nairoviruses
In the shadows of World War Two, about 200 Soviet soldiers in Crimea fell victim to a gruesome viral fever. The viral culprit? Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus, or CCHF. Half a century later, experts estimate that more than three billion people globally now live in areas where they are at risk of becoming infected with CCHF.
Belonging to the Nairoviruses, CCHF and its family is the next viral family investigated this month as part of?CEPI’s series on The Viral Most Wanted.
?? Explore The Viral Most Wanted - The Nairoviruses
First-in-human vaccine trial for Nipah virus underway at University of Oxford
This month, the first clinical trial participants received doses of?the University of Oxford’s vaccine candidate against Nipah virus in a Phase 1 study supported by CEPI.
Nipah virus is one of the deadliest pathogens known to infect people.? Despite its discovery 25 years ago in Malaysia, there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for use against Nipah – and deadly outbreaks continue to occur almost annually in parts of South Asia.
The progress of this Nipah virus vaccine candidate into clinical trials marks a crucial step towards safeguarding against this viral threat.
?? Learn more about Nipah virus and its Paramyxovirus family ?
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Other R&D news
CEPI has partnered with?Barinthus Biotherapeutics ?and the?University of Oxford ?to fast-track the development of a vaccine against MERS coronavirus through Phase II clinical trials.?CEPI will provide up to US$34.8 million to Barinthus Bio, in addition to funds previously committed to the University of Oxford, to take a MERS vaccine candidate through Phase 2 clinical trials.
CEPI has teamed up with Houston Methodist Research Institute again, providing up to $3.8 million in funding to their research team with the aim of generating preclinical proof of concept for their ‘circRNA’ vaccine platform.
CEPI is providing US$3.14 million to Algenex, a Spanish biotech company,?to investigate the potential use of moth chrysalises infected with an insect virus known as a baculovirus—harmless to people and animals—as ‘living bioreactors’. This technology could expedite vaccine production timelines vaccines in support of the 100 Days Mission.
With up to US$4.6 million in funding from CEPI, Korean-based Lemonex will advance its innovative mRNA drug delivery technology, DegradaBALL, which has the potential to both minimise post-mRNA vaccination side effects and improve access to future mRNA vaccines, in alignment with the 100 Days Mission.
100 Words On… Geo-diversified vaccine manufacturing
Had COVID-19 vaccines been shared more equitably, around 1.3 million deaths could have been averted worldwide. The vaccine inequity that characterised the COVID-19 response was exacerbated by the concentration of vaccine manufacturing capacity in a few high-income or high-population countries. This left much of the Global South—which has limited vaccine-making capacity—without timely access to lifesaving vaccines, even for those at highest risk. Expanding and diversifying the global footprint of vaccine manufacturing, particularly in underserved regions, is a cornerstone of CEPI’s goal of enabling equitable access to vaccines and is critical to the success of the 100 Days Mission.
?? Open Calls for Proposals
?? Seeking predictors of vaccine efficacy: identifying correlates of protection to support vaccine development . Applications closing soon: 6th February 2024.
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