CEPI (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Health)

Context: Union Minister for Science & Technology recently inaugurated Asia’s first health research "Pre-clinical Network Facility" under CEPI in Faridabad.

Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI)

• About: It was founded in Davos, Switzerland, by the governments of Norway and India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the World Economic Forum.
• Launch and Partnership: CEPI was launched in 2017 as an innovative partnership among public, private, philanthropic, and civil organizations.
• Mission: CEPI’s mission is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats to ensure accessibility for all people in need.
• Vaccine Development Support: CEPI has supported the development of over 50 vaccine candidates or platform technologies targeting multiple high-risk pathogens or potential future threats, known as Disease X.
• Five-Year Plan: CEPI’s five-year plan for 2022-2026 includes the ‘100 Days Mission,’ aiming to reduce the time required to develop safe, effective, and globally accessible vaccines against new threats to just 100 days.

CEPI and India Collaboration

• Ind-CEPI Mission: The Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, supports the implementation of the Ind-CEPI Mission, focusing on rapid vaccine development for epidemic preparedness.
• Program Management: The initiative is managed through a dedicated Program Management Unit (PMU) at the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).