CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and SK bioscience today announced a new partnership agreement to advance the development of mRNA-based vaccine technologies to facilitate rapid response to unknown pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential (also referred to as Disease X).

CEPI will provide up to US$40 million in initial funding to support the development of mRNA-vaccine candidates against Lassa Fever virus (viral family: Arenaviridae) and Japanese Encephalitis virus (Flaviviridae). The funding will support preclinical studies through to phase 1/2 trials. Pending results of these studies, a further $100 million in funding could be made available to support late-stage trials/licensure to further validate the mRNA platform and have it ready for use in outbreak situations.

This partnership is the first such agreement to be announced under CEPI’s call for proposals, launched in January, 2022, to develop RNA vaccine platform technologies and support development of a vaccine library against emerging and specific endemic infectious diseases.

CEPI aims to form a ‘library’ of vaccine candidates that are ready to be pulled off the shelf and swiftly adapted next time Disease X emerges. That way, valuable time is not lost creating a new vaccine from scratch when a new viral threat emerges.

By supporting the development of mRNA vaccine platform technologies against prototype pathogens, CEPI aims to expand the use of mRNA vaccine platforms and apply this technology to help create a library of vaccine candidates that could be used against Disease X that might emerge from high priority virus families.

CEPI’s efforts to help the world develop such a vaccine library, including rapid response technologies, form part of its $3.5 billion plan to compress vaccine development timelines to 100 days: an aspiration that CEPI refers to as the 100 Days Mission, which has been backed by leaders of the G7 and G20.

To date, CEPI has invested up to $300 million—including the funding announced today—in partnerships with SK bioscience to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, a COVID-19 variant-proof vaccine, a broadly protective Betacoronavirus vaccine, and now mRNA-based vaccine technologies.

Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said: “When the next pandemic virus emerges, we will be racing against the clock. And we are racing against the clock now, because we don’t know when the next pandemic virus will emerge. The fact that we have just had a pandemic does not reduce our future risk at all.

Chang Won Chey, Vice Chairman of SK discovery said: “We all agree that speed is the most important factor to protect humanity from the next life-threatening pandemic. Based on cooperation with global initiatives, including CEPI, we will achieve innovative vaccine development and ultimately contribute to promoting global public health.”