The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) welcomed this week a £20 million ($26.2 million) investment from the U.K. government while highlighting the need for upwards of $2 billion to develop a vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19.
CEPI, a global partnership dedicated to the acceleration of vaccine development for use against emerging infectious diseases, has been trying to encourage a vaccine for the disease since February. While no approved treatments for the COVID-19 causing coronavirus have developed, in the U.S., emergency use authorizations have been issued by the government to allow emergency testing and use by certain entities. Containment efforts have thus far yielded little results. While hot spots like China and South Korea are beginning to experience a slowing of infections, case counts are lurching higher in places like Italy and Iran, as well as the United States.
“It is increasingly clear that containment measures for COVID-19 can only slow down its spread, and the virus is now entering a stage of unprecedented threat in terms of its global impact,” CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett said. “While we heartily support the range of public health measures that governments are putting in place to protect their populations, it is critical that we also invest in the development of a vaccine that will prevent people from getting sick in the first place. Working as part of the global response, CEPI has committed $100 million of its own funds and moved with unprecedented speed to initiate a programme of vaccine development with the goal of having vaccine candidates in early stage clinical trials in as little as 16 weeks. However, these funds will be fully allocated by the end of March, and without immediate additional financial contributions, the vaccine programmes we have begun will not be able to progress and ultimately will not deliver the vaccines that the world needs.”
The U.K.’s investment was a direct response to that call, coupled with encouragement to other donors to support the effort.
“The U.K. is well-prepared to respond to potential cases of coronavirus at home, but a global response is needed to effectively combat the disease,” U.K. International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said.
CEPI has so far supported four vaccine candidates. But clinical testing requires funding, and the organization notes that the $2 billion in new funding would enable it to expand those candidate figures and increase the odds of success. It hopes to help at least three vaccine candidates submit to regulatory authorities for licensure and general use. Even for immediate operations, CEPI would need $100 million to get eight candidates through phase 1 clinical trials. It needs $375 million by month’s end.