GloPID-R Observer CEPI update: COVID-19 vaccine R&D and COVAX
Over the past 13 months, GLOPID-R observer CEPI has been working at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine R&D, committing over US $1 billion into 11 diverse partnerships to build the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccine portfolio.
Over the past 13 months, GLOPID-R observer CEPI has been working at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine R&D, committing over US $1 billion into 11 diverse partnerships to build the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccine portfolio.
As part of the extraordinary speed and progress made in COVID-19 vaccine development, CEPI-supported vaccines, developed by University of Oxford/ AstraZeneca and Moderna, have now received ‘temporary use authorisation’ in some countries, with additional encouraging Phase III data from CEPI’s partner Novavax. CEPI has also made strategic investments in vaccine manufacturing, reserving capacity to manufacture doses of COVAX vaccines and securing glass vials to store and deliver doses of vaccine.
To enable global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, CEPI is co-leading COVAX alongside Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO). COVAX now has agreements in place to access nearly two billion doses of several vaccine candidates and has the right of first refusal to potentially over 1 billion doses of vaccine in 2021 enabled by CEPI’s partnerships.
These agreements mean that all COVAX’s 190 participating economies—representing over 90% of the world’s population—will be able to access doses to protect vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021, with first deliveries anticipated to begin this month (COVAX’s first interim distribution forecast provides information on early projected availability of doses). At least 1.3 billion donor-funded doses will be made available to 92 low- and middle-income economies, targeting up to 20% population coverage by the end of the year.
What Next?
Despite the incredible and historic progress in vaccinology, as we enter a complex new phase of the pandemic with the emergence of novel variants, it is vital that we continue to support vaccine R&D programmes to equip the world with tools that are effective in successfully bringing an end to this unprecedented crisis.
This includes studies assessing the impact of COVID-19 variants on vaccine efficacy and supporting the development of ‘next-generation’ vaccine candidates to address the specific needs of a diverse range of populations and settings – such as thermostable or single-shot vaccines.
CEPI has also launched a new funding opportunity, providing up to US $140million to research groups worldwide to tackle current gaps in our scientific understanding and rapidly provide additional clinical data on COVID-19 vaccines with the aim to expand access to doses as part of the global vaccination rollout. (See Funding Opportunities).
Looking ahead, the coalition is exploring what tools and structures are needed to improve the post-pandemic global health architecture to prepare for future threats – including the urgent need to further reduce the vaccine development timeline to a 100-day target and the creation of vaccines that provide broad protection against coronaviruses and other virus families.
Learn more on COVAX:
Learn more on CEPI:
- Stay up to date with the latest CEPI news on www.cepi.net
- Follow CEPI on Twitter and LinkedIn
- Discover CEPI’s new ‘COVID-19: What Next?’ campaign tackling some of the big scientific questions that remain around how we can end the COVID-19 pandemic and how we can prepare for future disease outbreaks.
- Join the CEPI Team. Check out the latest job vacancies.
