Vaccine coalition launched to tackle emerging global health threats

A new global coalition to fund vaccine research and development was launched at the World Economic Forum 2017 annual general meeting in Davos, Switzerland. An international initiative for developing vaccines against emerging infectious diseases that threaten global health was launched on 18 January 2017 at the World Economic Forum annual general meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will coordinate and fund research into safe and effective vaccines that could be deployed rapidly to contain outbreaks before they become global health emergencies. The group — which has US$460m investment from the governments of Germany, Japan and Norway, and contributions from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust — hopes to speed up the production of vaccines against previously unknown pathogens by capitalising on adaptable vaccine technology and investing in facilities. CEPI will initially focus on developing vaccines to prevent Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and Lassa...