CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, is issuing a new Call for Proposals inviting organizations around the world to apply for funding to speed up development, scale-up manufacturing capacity, and expand the geographical footprint of production of COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

 

The Call for Proposals will be open until at least 30 June 2020 with applications reviewed on a rolling basis every two weeks. It will support the rapid development of vaccines which could be available for licensure in 12-18 months or less, and increase the availability of vaccines for wide-spread global deployment.

Billions of doses of vaccine are needed as soon as possible to bring the pandemic to an end around the world, so this Call has a particular emphasis on vaccine manufacturing capacity and the capabilities to deliver global development plans. Applicants will be required to demonstrate both their ability to rapidly develop their vaccine candidate, as well as manufacture it at scale.

 

Since January 2020 CEPI has acted at pace to establish a COVID-19 vaccine development portfolio comprising nine promising vaccine candidates, three of which are already in clinical testing. In parallel we have been closely monitoring the global vaccine development landscape with a view to enlarging our portfolio as and when resourcing allows.

 

Following last week’s launch of the landmark ACT Accelerator and in line with CEPI’s strategy to continually seek to build a portfolio with the best chance of success, CEPI is seeking to expand and diversify its portfolio. By supporting a broad and balanced portfolio, including a range of vaccine technologies and geographical manufacturing locations, CEPI is seeking to maximize the likelihood of rapidly delivering safe, effective and globally accessible vaccines against COVID-19.

 

This Call for Proposals aims to support organisations and partnerships to significantly accelerate the development and licensure of vaccines, as well as scale-up manufacturing capacity, and expand the footprint of vaccine production. Therefore, CEPI encourages Multi-National Companies (MNCs), companies in the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN) and other vaccine/ biologic developers to apply.

Applications for funding are particularly welcome from organizations which already have resources to make a vaccine candidate available for a target region, and which need support from CEPI to expand global development plans, run large clinical trials, and/ or widen the geographical manufacturing footprint.

 

It is anticipated that vaccines funded under this Call for Proposals will be procured and allocated through global mechanisms now under discussion as part of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, an international initiative launched by the WHO and global leaders last month.

This Call for Proposals is open on a rolling basis until at least 30 June 2020.

Source: CEPI

Focus for funding will be on vaccine candidates that have the potential to be developed rapidly and manufactured globally at scale