The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is calling for actions to counter the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) this week, with a new vaccine-focused request for proposals, millions in funding additions, and new partnerships.
CEPI desires rapid development and manufacture of a proven vaccine approach for use against the virus, which has infected more than 17,000 people and killed more than 360 since its discovery in December 2019. The call for proposals builds on a rolling funding opportunity announced by CEPI last month, as well as an existing vaccine candidate portfolio of four.
Those programs include offerings from Inovio, Moderna, CureVac, and the University of Queensland. British multinational pharmaceutical GSK is providing an additional platform for development, which was announced this week. Applications will be open to all non-profit research organizations as well as for-profit companies, international organizations and foundations, joint research and development ventures, government research organizations, and academic institutions. Those selected will need large manufacturing capabilities for vaccine candidates, a willingness to transfer their platform to a global network, and the intention to keep costs low.
“The rapid global spread and unique epidemiological characteristics of the virus are deeply concerning,” CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett said. “Our hope is that, with our partners, we can get an investigational vaccine from gene sequencing of the pathogen through to clinical testing in 16 weeks. The earliest stage of clinical trials (Phase I), to establish the safety of investigational vaccines, would take around two to four months. This is an extremely ambitious timeline – indeed, it would be unprecedented in the of field vaccine development. It is important to remember that even if we are successful – and there can be no guarantee – there will be further challenges to navigate before we can make vaccines more broadly available.”
The deadline for CEPI applications is Friday, Feb. 14.
The novel coronavirus has now spread to 23 countries, although the majority of cases remain within China. Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Boosting CEPI’s efforts are £20 million of additional funding announced by the UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Care this week. This money is not exclusive to use on 2019-nCoV efforts, though — it will also be put toward other priority pathogens such as Lassa fever, MERS, Nipah, Chikungunya, Rift Valley fever, Ebola and Disease X.
“Vaccines are our best defense against a host of deadly diseases, including coronavirus,” Matt Hancock, UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said. “The UK is a hub of world-leading and pioneering research, and it is vital that we lead the way in developing new vaccines to target global threats with scientists from across the world. The £20 million announced today will help our globally recognised vaccine development capabilities continue to develop new defences against emerging diseases, including coronavirus.”
The UK government is already a principal investor in CEPI, along with Norway, Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia, Belgium, the European Commission, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust.
CEPI’s efforts also include the new collaboration announced with GSK. GSK has long utilized adjuvant — an agent used to modify vaccines for stronger, longer-lasting immune responses — systems to create new vaccines, but now, it has opened its established pandemic vaccine adjuvant platform technology to create a vaccine for 2019-nCoV.
“Our adjuvant technology has previously been used successfully in the pandemic flu setting,” Thomas Breuer, Chief Medical Officer of GSK, said. “It enables using only small quantities of the vaccine antigen, which allows the production of more doses of the vaccine – a crucial advantage in a pandemic.”
Hatchett hailed the new access as a huge step forward for vaccine development, especially when paired with the funding CEPI is putting forward for a new platform technology. Entities funded by CEPI can now gain access to GSK’s adjuvant technology for testing their vaccine platforms and developing 2019-nCoV vaccines.