Private sector companies provide financial support for CEPI's COVID-19 vaccine programmes

As CEPI continues to advance its COVID-19 vaccine portfolio to respond to the global crisis, private sector companies have stepped up and pledged financial support to fund CEPI's vital work.

This includes donations from Nestlé, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG), Founders Pledge, ADX Labs, Beiersdorf, and A Collected Man, among other supporting organisations.

Financial contributions from our private sector partners will be used to support CEPI's vaccine development and manufacturing efforts. Based on the principles of speed, scale, and access, CEPI has provided up to US $895 million in funding to date to accelerate the development of nine COVID-19 vaccine programmes, with eight of our partners having already entered clinical trials. Through taking an active portfolio management approach, CEPI is seeking to invest in further COVID-19 vaccine candidates to increase the number of shots on goal in our search for a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.

Alongside Gavi and the World Health Organization (WHO), CEPI is also co-leading COVAX, the only global initiative to ensure equitable access to vulnerable populations for high-, middle- and low-income countries. As of 14 October 2020, 181 economies are engaged in COVAX, supporting its aim to develop, manufacture and fairly allocate 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.

CEPI's new private sector partners

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group,Inc. (SMFG)

Japanese multinational banking and financial services institution, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group,Inc. (SMFG), has donated EUR 1 million (MUSD 1.12) to CEPI to advance our COVID-19 vaccine portfolio. Find out more about our partnership with SMFG here.

Nestlé

Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company, has provided CEPI with a donation of CHF 1 million (MUSD 1.03) to support our work to develop COVID-19 vaccines.

Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of pain and hardship in communities around the world. A safe and effective vaccine will be needed to return to normality. That is why it was important to us to get on board when CEPI issued their call. We hope others will join us and support this important mission."

Economiesuisse and the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce, supported CEPI's donation drive and this funding partnership in Switzerland. Find out more about our partnership with Nestlé here.
 

Founders Pledge

Global entrepreneur community Founders Pledge have pledged US 1 million to CEPI to support our COVID-19 vaccine development efforts.
 

ADX Labs

ADX Labs, Inc., a Minneapolis-based innovative technology company, has provided CEPI with US $100,000 in funding. The donation was made by ADX Labs' charitable arm, the ADX Foundation.

Steven M. Renner, founder and CEO of ADX Labs and chairman of the ADX Foundation said, "ADX is committed to making a difference throughout the world through the power of technology. In CEPI we have found a like-minded organisation built on innovation and dedicated to preparedness. CEPI is a highly promising initiative, and ADX Labs is proud to help CEPI's vaccine development partners increase their chances of success."

More information on ADX's donation to CEPI is available here.
 

A Collected Man

A Collected Man, a specialist website for rare watches and other collectibles, raised GBP 30,000 (USD 37,000) for CEPI earlier this year through the sale of a limited-edition watch. In June, a graphite pencil illustration of a wristwatch, raised an additional GBP 20,500 (USD 25,400) for CEPI in an online auction organised by A Collected Man.

"We had to do something," said Silas Walton, the platform's founder, in an article in the New York Times.
 

Beiersdorf

The Norwegian Branch of Beiersdorf—behind the three global skin care brands NIVEA, Eucerin, and La Prairie—has provided EUR 15,000 (USD 16,400) to CEPI as part of their #ShareTheCare campaign. Our partnership features on their website.

CEPI has also received additional funds of up to USD 10,000 from Glorious PC Gaming Race and Atomico.
 

Additional funding required to support CEPI's efforts

A total of $2.1 billion is needed to fund vaccine R&D and manufacturing efforts to work towards our goal to develop, manufacture and deliver vaccines to end the acute phase of the global pandemic by the end of 2021, saving millions of lives and transforming the economic prospects of societies around the world.

Financial donations provided by our new investors join a growing number of sovereign governments, private sector companies and philanthropic institutions and individuals supporting CEPI's life-saving efforts.

Businesses already contributing to CEPI include: partners of the investment fund Citadel, Lululemon, Ndemic Creations, WePlay, Avast, Goldman Sachs Gives, The Duffs & Phelps Charitable Foundation, General Catalyst, TPG-Global, and Derwent London. The individual philanthropist Nigel Blackwell has also provided significant contributions to advance our efforts.

CEPI has so far received USD $1.3 billion in funding. An additional US $800 million is urgently required to ensure CEPI's COVID-19 vaccine programmes can progress at speed.

For investor enquiries, please contact [email protected]. 

CEPI has also partnered with the UN Foundation, who can accept individual donations on behalf of CEPI, as part of their COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.