CEPI’s Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit: Taking the fight beyond COVID-19-18
We know that future pandemics aren’t a case of ‘if’ but ‘when’. While there is still much to do to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we must also use this time to make sure we are better prepared in the future.
That’s why CEPI and the UK Government last month hosted the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit, a landmark moment bringing together political leaders and experts to discuss what is required to push forward the tools we need to minimise the risks of future epidemics and pandemics.
The meeting, held at London’s Science Museum, explored how to further CEPI’s goals: the quest to advance all-in-one coronavirus vaccines, the creation of vaccine libraries to build prototype vaccines against whole virus families, and reducing the vaccine development timeline to 100 days – around a third of the time it took to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
The time for action is now
Over the course of the two days, attendees, participating in person and online, heard from a prestigious line-up of speakers who shared their inspiring personal stories and thoughts on the urgent need to advance COVAX, achieve the 100 Days Mission, amplify the voices of key populations affected by the pandemic, and boost vaccine manufacturing capacity. Following the discussions, members of the life sciences industry issued a joint statement, alongside CEPI and the UK Government, expressing their commitment to deliver vaccines in 100 days.
In other key moments during the meeting, Moderna announced its global health strategy, Aspen Pharmacare shared its landmark agreement with Johnson & Johnson to manufacture and make available a COVID-19 vaccine throughout Africa, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed a new partnership between CEPI and Cambridge spinout DIOSynVax to develop a vaccine that could provide broad protection against COVID-19 variants and other coronaviruses.
$1.5bn raised to kickstart efforts
The event culminated in a ‘Power Hour’ where Government and philanthropic partners took to the stage to pledge $1.5 billion to launch CEPI’s plan, alongside additional political commitments.
The funds raised so far put CEPI on the path to reaching the full $3.5 billion it needs over the next five years to fund its strategy and prevent devastation from future pandemics.
As Dr Tedros, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), stated, “A commitment to CEPI is a commitment to science, a commitment to equity, and a commitment to partnership.”
More information
- Watch the two-day Summit. A written summary of the event is also available to read on the CEPI website.
- Check out news from the event – including the joint life sciences industry statement, Moderna’s global health strategy, Aspen Pharmacare’s landmark agreement with J&J, and CEPI’s partnership with DIOSynVax.
- See a full list of contributions and pledges made towards CEPI’s $3.5bn pandemic preparedness plan.