Some GloPID-R members participated in the creation and the official launch of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) – a new beginning for funding vaccine development
The CEPI was officially launched at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos on January 19, 2017. Quickly after being established, the interim CEPI board elected Dr. Richard Hatchett, former member of the GloPID-R Scientific Advisory Board, as the CEO, who will officially start his position in April 2017. Dr. Hatchett comes to CEPI from the Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority (BARDA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he was Deputy Director and Chief Medical Officer.
CEPI has an initial investment of $540 million from the governments of Germany, Japan and Norway plus the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust. In addition, the European Commission plans to co-fund with €250 million.
Among its first initiatives, CEPI launched its first call for proposals for the development of vaccines against MERS, Nipah and Lassa-fever. Also, it has hosted its first scientific meeting and Partners’ Forum in collaboration with INSERM in Paris on February 21-22, 2017. With over 200 participants in attendance, the conference had many preeminent speakers, most notably France’s President, François Hollande, who made a brief appearance and presentation.
About CEPI
CEPI is a new coalition of stakeholders from international organizations, governments, industry, public and philanthropic R&D funders, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society groups who agreed to explore new ways of working to drive vaccine innovation to address public health threats, in alignment with the WHO Blueprint for R&D.
CEPI is currently actively seeking partnerships with governments, potential funders, industry partners, regulators, and civil society organizations with an interest in building a proactive and accelerated approach to vaccine development and delivery.
