Why we exist
Our mission is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can be accessible to all people in need.
Epidemic diseases affect us all. They do not respect borders
As the COVID-19 pandemic showed, in a world characterised by increasing population density, human mobility and ecological change, emerging infectious diseases pose a real and growing threat to global health security.
The costs of emerging infectious diseases are vast, in both human and economic terms. Even small epidemics can cause tremendous economic disruption, while pandemics like COVID-19 can lead to devastating loss of life, overwhelming disruption to societies and economic losses of trillions of dollars.
Vaccines are one of our most powerful tools in the fight to outsmart epidemics. The development of vaccines can help save lives, protect societies and restabilise economies.
The creation of CEPI
Historically, vaccine development has been a long, risky and costly endeavour. Planning for emerging infectious diseases is especially challenging: the market potential for vaccines against these diseases is limited and testing such vaccines is difficult.
Events like the devastating 2014-16 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa—which killed more than 11,000 people and had an economic and social burden of over US $53 billion—showed us that very few vaccines are ready to be used against these threats.
The world’s response to this crisis fell tragically short. A vaccine that had been under development for more than a decade was not deployed until over a year into the epidemic. That vaccine was shown to have 100% efficacy, suggesting that much of the epidemic could have been prevented.
CEPI was launched at Davos in 2017 as the result of a consensus that a coordinated, international, and intergovernmental plan was needed to develop and deploy new vaccines to prevent future epidemics.
Latest News
Latest News
New vaccine set for human trials in Nipah outbreak hotspot
CEPI will provide US$17.3 million to PHV to support mid-stage human trials of a Nipah vaccine candidate.
COVAX: The “world first” vaccine sharing scheme that saved millions
Former head of COVAX, Aurélia Nguyen, shares her reflections on the achievements of this pioneering vaccine-sharing scheme.
CEPI appoints Executive Director of People and Organisation
Claire Hoang Sperandio will join CEPI in September.
Pandemic speed: How rapid-response science saves lives
Read the story behind CEPI’s pioneering R&D response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how these lessons are contributing to the 100 Days Mission to accelerate the development of future pandemic-busting vaccines.
Pioneering research to develop all-in-one vaccine against some of the world’s most deadly diseases
Scientists at Denmark’s Adaptvac will lead the development of a new vaccine that could provide all-in-one protection against multiple deadly viruses including Ebolavirus Zaire, Sudan Ebolavirus and Marburg, all of which cause frequent unpredictable outbreaks in regions of Africa, with significant health and societal impacts and fatality rates of up to 90%.
Rethinking regulation to face future pandemic threats
Regulatory preparedness underscores the 100 Days Mission. Find out how.
Responsibly unleashing artificial intelligence in pandemic preparedness
Meeting innovation with responsibility
Preparedness in practice: Rwanda’s record-breaking Marburg response
CEPI’s outbreak response experts reflect on how Rwanda was able to implement an emergency trial of a Marburg vaccine just 10 days after the outbreak was declared.
CEPI signs new collaborative agreement with US Dept of Defense to expand protection against disease outbreaks
Agreement will enable organisations to collaborate on projects that expand global defences against disease outbreaks.
Public health expert Dr. Kesete Admasu joins CEPI Board
He brings over twenty years of experience working across public health, infectious disease initiatives and philanthropic investment.
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CEPI statement on the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement
CEPI welcomes the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement
Leading health partners join coalition set up to combat deadly Lassa fever
The organisations will work with CEPI and WAHO to advance the fight against the infectious disease.
