The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has launched a five-year strategy, CEPI 3.0, aimed at strengthening global preparedness for epidemic and pandemic threats. The organisation has called for an additional $2.5 billion in funding to reinforce worldwide disease defenses, bringing the total required for full implementation to $3.6 billion. With $1.1 billion already secured, CEPI is seeking further contributions from governments, philanthropic organisations, and development partners.
CEPI 3.0 is scheduled to begin in 2027 and responds to the increasing frequency and severity of outbreaks from deadly diseases such as Nipah, Ebola, Chikungunya, and Marburg. The coalition notes that another pandemic on the scale of COVID-19 remains a significant risk, with the potential for enormous economic and social consequences.
At the heart of the strategy is CEPI’s 100 Days Mission, which aims to develop safe, effective, and accessible vaccines against viruses with pandemic potential within 100 days of their identification. The plan outlines three interconnected priorities to enable faster, more equitable outbreak responses worldwide.
First, CEPI seeks to generate scientific tools and knowledge across viral families identified by the World Health Organization as capable of causing a Public Health Emergency of International Concern or a pandemic. Second, the organisation will advance rapid-response vaccine platform technologies and integrate them into regional manufacturing networks, working closely with regulators to provide access to critical performance data and facilitate accelerated assessment of candidate vaccines.
Finally, CEPI will rigorously support and test global scientific and manufacturing networks that can be activated quickly to deliver on the 100 Days Mission, spanning early research and development through large-scale production. This approach is designed to enable rapid vaccine development, faster manufacturing scale-up, accelerated regulatory review, and improved equity in vaccine distribution from the outset of outbreaks.
