OSLO, Norway— 25 February 2022: The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) today welcomed the Government of Japan's generous pledge of US$300 million CEPI's ambitious global plan to reduce the risk of future pandemics and epidemics. The pledge reaffirms the Government of Japan's commitment to CEPI and the principle of equitable access to vaccines as a cornerstone of global health security.
CEPI's plan will reduce the risk posed by epidemics and pandemics by developing vaccines for known disease threats (such as Lassa fever, MERS and Nipah virus), and build on the scientific advances made during COVID-19 to prepare in advance for ‘Disease X'- an unknown pathogen with pandemic potential.
This investment comes at a critical time as the global community strives to end the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that the world is better prepared to respond to future viral threats. The funding committed by Japan will also bolster CEPI's work to develop the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines, including ‘variant-proof' COVID-19 vaccines, as well as vaccines that provide broad protection against all Betacoronaviruses.
A statement from the Japanese Government said: "Japan will strengthen its cooperation with CEPI to respond to the current pandemic and prepare for future pandemics. The contribution to CEPI has great significance in addressing the common human issue of pandemics and can also help to further promote Japan's own vaccine development and production. The Government of Japan will continue to actively contribute to the development and production of vaccines for the international community."
The government of Japan has long recognised and supported the imperative that no one is safe unless everyone is safe. Japan paved the way for the launch of CEPI with the 2016 G7 Ise-Shima Vision for Global Health and was one of CEPI's first funders. CEPI's success owes a great deal to the support of the Japanese people. We thank Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for this vital investment in the protection of the people of Japan, and the world, against future pandemics.
As it prepares to host the G7 presidency next year, and with its robust pharmaceutical sector and world-leading research institutions and scientific capabilities, Japan has a crucial role to play in strengthening global health security and pandemic preparedness. We look forward to even greater scientific collaboration between CEPI and Japan in the future. I commend Japan for its leadership and bold commitment and urge other donors to follow Japan's lead at the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit next month.
Today's pledge from Japan comes ahead of the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit on 7 and 8 March. Co-hosted with the UK Government the Summit aims to raise critical funds towards CEPI's US$3.5 billion five-year plan to deliver innovative, access-focused R&D programmes and accelerate the development of safe, effective, and globally accessible vaccines against emerging diseases to as little as 100 days.
The Summit will bring together world leaders from government, industry, philanthropy, academia and civil society to explore how to achieve this ambitious goal, endorsed by the G7 and G20 and termed the 100 Days Mission.
As one of CEPI's largest investors, Japan has been a pivotal force in pandemic preparedness and the COVID-19 response. Over the past two years Japan's support for multilateral efforts to vaccinate the world, including COVAX which CEPI co-leads, has been critically important. Thanks to the support of countries like Japan, CEPI was able to commit early funding to the development of vaccines including Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Novavax which will be manufactured in Japan.
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This announcement is also available to read in Japanese.
Notes to editors
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will host a summit with the UK Government to raise funds for vaccine research and development. The 2022 Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit will support the UK and CEPI's goal of cutting vaccine development time by two-thirds, to 100 days, which could avert future pandemics and save millions of lives.
Other pledges to CEPI from the United Kingdom, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome were announced over the past couple of weeks.
Learn more about CEPI's $3.5bn plan here: http://www.endpandemics.cepi.net
About CEPI
CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations, launched at Davos in 2017, to develop vaccines against future epidemics. Prior to COVID-19, CEPI's work focused on developing vaccines against the Ebola Virus Disease, Lassa virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever virus and Chikungunya virus. It has over 20 vaccine candidates against these pathogens in development. CEPI has also invested in new platform technologies for rapid vaccine development against unknown pathogens (Disease X).
During the current pandemic, CEPI initiated multiple programmes to develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants with a focus on speed, scale and access. These programmes leverage the rapid response platforms developed by CEPI's partners prior to the emergence of COVID-19, as well as new collaborations. The aim is to advance clinical development of a diverse portfolio of safe and effective COVID-19 candidates and to enable fair allocation of these vaccines worldwide through COVAX.
CEPI's 5-year plan lays out a $3.5 billion roadmap to compress vaccine development timelines to 100 days, develop a broadly protective vaccine against COVID-19 and other Betacoronaviruses, and create a "library" of vaccine candidates for use against known and unknown pathogens. The plan is available at http://www.endpandemics.cepi.net.
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