Norway-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in South Korea have announced a renewed collaboration to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases. The signing ceremony took place between Dr Jerome Kim (Director General of IVI) and Dr Richard Hatchett (CEO of CEPI) at the CEPI office in London, UK.

Under the terms of the renewed CEPI-IVI Implementing Partnership Agreement, IVI will provide technical services for CEPI-funded projects, leveraging IVI’s expertise and capabilities at their headquarters in Korea and around the world to help accelerate vaccine development against pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential, and in support of CEPI’s 100 Days Mission, a goal to reduce the time taken to develop safe and effective vaccines against pathogens with pandemic potential to 100 days.

To this end, IVI will support CEPI across a variety of projects, including providing strategic, technical and scientific support for clinical development and manufacturing of vaccines, standards and assay development, and capacity-building initiatives that strengthen local resources to help establish or improve research preparedness and emergency evidence generation for future outbreaks.

The ongoing CEPI-IVI partnership builds upon previous successful collaborations between the two organisations.