Building on its efforts during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has proposed a $3.5 billion plan to reduce or eliminate future pandemic and epidemic risk through preparedness investment over the next five years.
The organization has sought support from governments, health organizations, and private partners alike for the plan, and already has the backing of the governments of Germany, Norway, and Ethiopia, philanthropies such as Wellcome and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi and UNICEF, among others.
“Reducing the risk of future pandemics and epidemics is a critical global issue that will benefit every single human on earth,” Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said. “The backing from governments and global health bodies for CEPI’s plan is testament to the importance of this issue and the unique role that CEPI plays in this global effort. Our five-year plan is ambitious, yet achievable, and we look forward to working with everyone who has backed us so far to protect the world from the devastating impacts of pandemics and epidemics.”
The plan is essentially divided into three parts: managing the threat of COVID-19 now, creating an all-in-one vaccine for coronaviruses, and preparing for the epidemics of tomorrow.
For COVID, CEPI is seeking $1 billion this year to pay for research and development focused on disease variants and to guarantee equitable access to vaccines. It has already begun new partnerships with VBI Vaccines and SK bioscience to develop novel vaccines to that end.
CEPI hopes to award $200 million in funding for an all-in-one vaccine that could protect against many coronaviruses, from MERS-CoV to SARS-CoV-2. The latter is the seventh human coronavirus to be identified in a growing viral threat. Previous types have shown less transmissibility than SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — but higher mortality rates. The fear is that a coronavirus that more perfectly balances the two aspects could emerge. A call for proposals is expected by the end of the month.
Last is preparation, a six-part effort built on global collaboration. Specifically, those parts include:
- Optimizing vaccines current and in development to address coronavirus concerns;
- Creating vaccines for known threats such as Chikungunya and MERS while adding clinical trials for Ebola vaccines;
- Shrinking vaccine development timelines to 100 days, preparing clinical trial networks to respond to new threats, linking manufacturing facilities, and streamlining regulatory requirements;
- Establishing a library of prototype vaccines and similar countermeasures against pathogens from critical viral families;
- Making global networks for lab capacity, assays, and preclinical models; and
- Supporting low- and middle-income countries to develop national health security infrastructure and expertise, as well as national and regional vaccine manufacturing.