Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

CEPI is a new alliance to finance and coordinate the development of new vaccines to prevent and contain infectious disease epidemics.

By enabling the development of suitable vaccines against pathogens, which may cause epidemics, CEPI aims to stop epidemics before they turn into large-scale health emergencies. In order to avoid future humanitarian disasters caused by epidemics, vaccines should be readily available where and when needed most.

International efforts to fight the global threat of epidemics

Since some diseases offer little economic incentives for pharmaceutical companies to take on the high development costs for vaccines, public funding by the international community is needed.

CEPI is a new alliance between governments, industry, academia, philanthropy, intergovernmental institutions, such as the World Health Organization, and civil society. The initiative focuses on diseases which the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified as possible originators for future pandemics. For the first five years, CEPI strives to raise funds of up to US$ 1 billion. By 2020 Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom, the European Commission as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust are supporting CEPI financially.

CEPI funding as one component of the German engagement in Global Health

At the launch of CEPI at the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos, the German government, represented by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has announced to support CEPI with up to €90 million. This support will act as one pillar of the BMBF´s efforts to fight global health threats and will help broaden Germany’s engagement in Global Health. BMBF is also supporting CEPI with an additional €140 Mio. for the development of a vaccine against the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. CEPI has made an urgent call for $2 billion to advance COVID-19 vaccine candidates into clinical testing and has also received financial support by the governments of Denmark, Finland, Norway and the UK.