Periodic Reporting for period 2 - COVID-19 VACCINES (PROPOSAL FOR FUNDING RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING OF VACCINE AGAINST COVID-19)
Reporting period: 2022-01-24 to 2023-07-23
The overall objective of the project is to leverage co-funding from the European Commission (EC) to support CEPI’s COVID-19 and betacoronavirus vaccine development efforts. The COVID-19 outbreak has grown into a global pandemic of historic proportions, with detrimental humanitarian and economic consequences. All evidence now suggests that eradication of COVID-19 is not feasible and that we face a global public health crisis which is unprecedented in modern times. Continuing to invest in vaccine development is an investment in the future health for all in our societies and a return to social and economic development – both in Europe and in the rest of the globe.
With the support of the EC, CEPI is supporting scientifically excellent research and development of vaccine development programmes that will allow the broadest global access of the vaccines that are ultimately developed both within the current pandemic and beyond. This will help curb the current ongoing outbreak s and potentially prevent ongoing and future outbreaks of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and of diseases caused by beta-coronaviruses. Of particular importance to CEPI’s work is to try to ensure that low and middle income countries will have access to the vaccines to protect their most vulnerable population, as soon as a vaccine is available and irrespective of their ability to pay.
The specific objective for this project is to leverage co-funding from the EC to support CEPI’s various COVID-19 Calls for Proposals (CfPs) thereby facilitating a broad and balanced portfolio including a range of vaccine technologies to maximise the likelihood of rapidly delivering safe, effective and globally accessible vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants and diseases caused by betacoronavirus. To date, CEPI has launched four consecutive and related CfPs, each of include slight modifications to the selection criteria in order to adapt to the fast-moving environment of COVID-19 disease and its vaccines development.
With the support of the EC, CEPI is supporting scientifically excellent research and development of vaccine development programmes that will allow the broadest global access of the vaccines that are ultimately developed both within the current pandemic and beyond. This will help curb the current ongoing outbreak s and potentially prevent ongoing and future outbreaks of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and of diseases caused by beta-coronaviruses. Of particular importance to CEPI’s work is to try to ensure that low and middle income countries will have access to the vaccines to protect their most vulnerable population, as soon as a vaccine is available and irrespective of their ability to pay.
The specific objective for this project is to leverage co-funding from the EC to support CEPI’s various COVID-19 Calls for Proposals (CfPs) thereby facilitating a broad and balanced portfolio including a range of vaccine technologies to maximise the likelihood of rapidly delivering safe, effective and globally accessible vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants and diseases caused by betacoronavirus. To date, CEPI has launched four consecutive and related CfPs, each of include slight modifications to the selection criteria in order to adapt to the fast-moving environment of COVID-19 disease and its vaccines development.
The project has progressed well in achieving key outputs in support of the advancement of the Integrated Product Development Plans for each awardee. The implementation of this project is contributing to the advancement and diversification of the COVID-19 and betacoronavirus vaccine development pipeline. This creates a unique opportunity for the EC and CEPI to be leading global forces driving the advancement of these vaccines through to Phase IIb/III and towards licensure. Such an achievement would be of great value to the world’s ongoing response efforts against COVID-19 and betacoronavirus vaccines. It is anticipated that this project will lead to an overall wide enough range of opportunities for there to be adequate supply of vaccine from different technologies. Furthermore, this project is making important contributions to the research and development of novel immunogens and platform technologies to be able to develop broadly protective betacoronavirus vaccines .
SK bioscience, VBI and Panacea Biotec/THSTI advancements in support of this programme are in alignment with CEPI’s overall strategy and timing for the advancement of COVID-19 and broadly protective betacoronavirus vaccines. As SK bioscience COVID-19 vaccine has been licensed, it had a potential to contribute to the global arsenal of vaccines against COVID-19, thereby promoting health and well-being across the world. Furthermore, the development of broadly protective betacoronavirus vaccines will further contribute to being better prepared against viruses that have already emerged with epidemic and pandemic potential such as SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, MERS or other potentially threatening viruses within the genus that are yet to cause disease in humans that could emerge on an epidemic or pandemic scale.