UK pledges £160 million to CEPI to boost global vaccine development

24 February 2022 — The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, CEPI, has today welcomed a £160 million pledge from the UK Government to advance our work against the COVID-19 crisis and build the critical tools and partnerships needed to reduce, or even eliminate, future epidemic and pandemic threats.

The announcement comes ahead of the UK government hosting CEPI's Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit on 7 to 8 March in London. The event aims to raise funds for CEPI's goal, backed by the UK during its G7 presidency last year, to cut the time it takes to develop new vaccines to 100 days, including ‘variant-proof' vaccines that will work against multiple future COVID-19 variants.

The UK has provided £276 million since 2018.


Welcoming the pledge, CEPI CEO, Dr Richard Hatchett, said:

"This funding comes at a critical moment, allowing CEPI to pursue our ambitious programme to develop ‘variant proof' vaccines against COVID-19 and other betacoronaviruses as well as pursue our life saving work developing vaccines against the next Disease X and known viral threats such as Lassa Fever, Nipah and Chikungunya.

"Contemplating future pandemics is difficult, especially as we continue to battle the current one, but the threat is real and we must seize this rare convergence of political will, practical experience, and scientific progress to build a world that is better prepared.

"We are delighted to partner with the UK in hosting next month's Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit which will bring the global community together to focus on future threats and to explore what it will take for the world to be better prepared and, in particular, prepared to develop, and enable access to, safe and effective vaccines against new pathogens in 100 days.

"We thank the UK government for elevating the 100 Day Mission to a G7 priority through its Presidency of the G7 in 2021 and for extending its support today. CEPI is proud to continue our collaboration with the UK government and its world-leading life-sciences sector to build a better, safer, more equitable future for all."

The full announcement is available to read on the UK Government website.

Find out more about CEPI's 100 Days Mission and its $3.5bn pandemic preparedness plan here.