CEPI invests $4.9M in consortium to develop COVID-19 vaccine

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will invest $4.9 million in a consortium working to develop a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The investment and partnership include the Institut Pasteur in Paris, Themis Bioscience, an Austrian biotechnology company, and the University of Pittsburgh.

This is the eighth COVID-19 vaccine candidate in CEPI’s portfolio. CEPI — a global alliance that finances and coordinates the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases – has invested $29.2 million in COVID-19 vaccine R&D to date. CEPI has provided initial funding to Curevac, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Moderna, Novavax, The University of Hong Kong, The University of Oxford, and The University of Queensland to develop COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

This current round of CEPI funding will support the preclinical testing, initial manufacture of vaccine materials, and preparatory work for phase 1 studies. The investment is the result of a call for proposals that CEPI issued in early February for proven vaccine technology that could be used to rapidly develop a vaccine against the coronavirus, at scale.

“CEPI was set up to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious threats like COVID-19,” Richard Hatchett, CEO at CEPI, said. “One of the ways we’re doing this is by bridging the gap between public and private sectors to pool resources and expertise to jump-start the vaccine development process. I’m pleased that CEPI has been able to help establish and fund this consortium of leading vaccine developers, through our recent call for proposals, to harness this measles vector platform to develop a vaccine against COVID-19. It is clear that an effective vaccine against COVID-19 is crucial if we are to beat this virus. By investing in a range of partners and vaccine technologies, we are giving ourselves the best chance of developing a vaccine that can stop COVID-19 in its tracks. We are calling on the international community to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 by investing in CEPI’s vaccine development program and help us deliver a long-term equitable solution to this unprecedented global challenge.”

CEPI aims to advance COVID-19 vaccine candidates into clinical testing as quickly as possible.