Deadline: 31-Dec-2025
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has launched a new funding call to support advanced analytical technologies that can transform vaccine development, production, and release. The initiative focuses on cutting vaccine timelines to 100 days, improving vaccine characterization, and strengthening manufacturing systems—especially for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). This opportunity aims to accelerate global readiness for future outbreaks.
Overview
CEPI has opened a major funding opportunity to accelerate the creation and deployment of innovative analytical technologies that reshape the vaccine development lifecycle. The goal is to enable effective vaccines to be produced and released within 100 days of detecting a new outbreak, drastically reducing global vulnerability to emerging infectious diseases.
Why This Matters
Speed is essential during outbreaks. Traditional vaccine development can take years, and delays in manufacturing or batch release slow down emergency response. CEPI’s initiative targets these bottlenecks so countries—especially LMICs—can access vaccines quickly and equitably. Improved analytics can also reduce costs, strengthen quality control, and enhance decision-making during public-health emergencies.
Key Focus Areas
1. Reducing Development and Release Timelines
CEPI seeks technologies that shorten critical steps in the vaccine pipeline:
• Rapid analytical tools for vaccine batch release
• AI-assisted or automated quality-control techniques
• Methods that streamline regulatory-required testing
2. Improving Manufacturing Efficiency
Technologies should support:
• Faster scale-up during outbreaks
• Cost-effective production
• Increased reliability and consistency across platforms
3. Advancing Vaccine Characterization
Proposals should enhance analytical insights into:
• RNA vaccines
• Viral-vector vaccines
• Protein-subunit vaccines
Better characterization can improve quality assessment, stability prediction, and performance evaluation—allowing developers to make rapid, evidence-based decisions during emergencies.
Who Is Eligible?
Entities typically suited to apply include:
• Research organizations, universities, and scientific institutes
• Biotech companies developing analytical or manufacturing technologies
• Technology innovators with tools applicable to vaccine production
• Consortia combining scientific, industrial, and technical expertise
Applicants should demonstrate the relevance, scalability, and global applicability of their proposed solutions.
How It Works: What Applicants Should Do
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Identify an analytical technology that specifically addresses vaccine development, characterization, manufacturing, or batch release delays.
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Provide evidence of feasibility, scientific validity, and potential for real-world deployment.
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Demonstrate how the technology can reduce timelines toward CEPI’s 100-day vaccine goal.
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Explain how your innovation supports LMIC accessibility, affordability, and scalable implementation.
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Prepare a proposal that includes technical details, expected impact, collaboration potential, budget needs, and delivery timeline.
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Submit the proposal through CEPI’s designated application portal (as provided in the official call documentation).
Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Submitting concepts without clear real-world application or testing path
• Ignoring LMIC relevance or affordability requirements
• Overlooking regulatory needs for analytical validation
• Focusing solely on theoretical innovations without implementation strategy
• Providing insufficient data on scalability or manufacturing integration
FAQ
1. What is CEPI’s 100-Day Mission?
It is CEPI’s global strategy to ensure that safe, effective vaccines can be developed, tested, manufactured, and released within 100 days of identifying a new pathogen.
2. What types of technologies are most encouraged?
Solutions that speed up vaccine characterization, testing, release, quality control, or manufacturing efficiency—particularly those that use automation, AI, or advanced analytics.
3. Do proposals need to be platform-specific?
No. Technologies may apply broadly or target specific platforms such as RNA, viral vectors, or protein-based vaccines.
4. Is LMIC-focused impact mandatory?
Yes. Proposals must demonstrate benefits for Low- and Middle-Income Countries, including cost, accessibility, and equitable distribution.
5. Are early-stage ideas eligible?
Early-stage concepts may be considered if there is strong scientific rationale and a credible plan for development and validation.
6. Can companies partner with research institutions?
Yes. CEPI encourages multi-partner collaborations combining scientific, technical, and industrial expertise.
7. What costs can be funded?
Typically, R&D costs, technology validation, testing, prototyping, and implementation plans—subject to CEPI’s specific budget guidelines.
Conclusion
CEPI’s new funding call presents a major opportunity for innovators to revolutionize the technologies that support vaccine development. By accelerating analytics, improving characterization, and enabling faster manufacturing, this initiative strengthens global preparedness and ensures that life-saving vaccines can reach populations—especially in LMICs—within unprecedented timelines. Applicants with scalable, impactful solutions can play a critical role in shaping the future of pandemic response.
For more information, visit CEPI.
