PATH applauds the US Government’s $150 million pledge to CEPI to accelerate development of lifesaving vaccines
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) aims to dramatically reduce or eliminate the future risk of pandemics and epidemics, potentially averting millions of deaths and trillions of dollars in economic damage.
Seattle, WA - PATH applauds the announcement today that the Biden Administration has committed $150 million over the next three years to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The pledge is an important step in demonstrating US leadership for CEPI’s mission of accelerating the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and supporting equitable access for all during outbreaks. We urge Congress and the Biden Administration to continue to build off this initial commitment as funding decisions are finalized for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.
“It is heartening to see the United States stepping up and joining many other country donors in financing CEPI’s critical work,” said Nikolaj Gilbert, President and CEO of PATH. “CEPI is pushing the boundaries of science to develop novel vaccines. Through their efforts, the world will be better prepared to address the current pandemic and respond to the next Disease X.”
The Biden Administration’s pledge comes as world leaders gather in London for the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit from March 7-8. Co-hosted with the UK Government, the Summit aims to raise funds toward CEPI’s US$3.5 billion five-year plan to deliver innovative, access-focused research and development programs and accelerate the development of safe, effective, and globally accessible vaccines against emerging diseases to as little as 100 days.
This pledge is an important initial step in support of CEPI’s global mission, though additional support from the US government will be needed to fulfill CEPI’s ambitious five-year plan. We urge Congressional leaders and the Biden Administration to build off this initial commitment by providing no less than $200 million for CEPI in the final fiscal year 2022 appropriations package and by include a request of $200 million for CEPI in the fiscal year 2023 President’s budget request
About CEPI’s $3.5 billion plan to end pandemics:
CEPI has launched its $3.5 billion plan to dramatically reduce or even eliminate the future risk of pandemics and epidemics, potentially averting millions of deaths and trillions of dollars in economic damage.
CEPI’s five-year plan sets out ambitious initiatives to build a future world that is better equipped to deal with these devastating diseases. As part of the plan, CEPI announced its “moonshot” objective to help compress vaccine development timelines to 100 days, about a third of the time that it took the world to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.