News excerpt:

Serum Institute of India (SII) collaborates with Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to accelerate vaccine production in response to global disease outbreaks.

More details on news:

• CEPI has articulated an aspirational goal: vaccines should be ready for initial authorisation and manufacturing at scale within 100 days of recognition of a pandemic pathogen, when appropriate.
• The idea is to combine the process of delivering a vaccine within 100 days with improved surveillance providing earlier detection and warning, and swift use of interventions such as testing, contact tracing and social distancing to suppress disease transmission.
• To prepare for such a scenario, CEPI is investing up to $30 million to build upon SII’s proven track record of rapid response to outbreaks of infectious diseases, expanding the company’s existing ability to swiftly supply investigational vaccines in the face of epidemic and pandemic threats.
• The manufacturing network will focus on vaccine makers in the Global South near areas at high risk of outbreaks caused by deadly viral threats like Lassa fever, Nipah, Disease X, and other pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential prioritised by CEPI.

Significance: 

• The addition of SII to the CEPI manufacturing network will be a significant boost to vaccine production efforts in Global South regions, and take it a step closer to achieving the 100 Days Mission.
• According to CEPI, this collaboration would give the world a better chance of containing and controlling future pathogenic threats and averting the type of catastrophic global public health and socio-economic impacts caused by COVID-19.
• This collaboration will enable us to respond more rapidly and equitably to public health disease outbreaks.