UK government pledges £20m for coronavirus vaccine

The UK government has donated £20 million to help develop a vaccine for the coronavirus.

The announcement was made after health secretary Matt Hancock visited Public Health England’s Porton Down laboratory.  

The funding is going to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) – a global partnership launched in 2017 to develop vaccines to stop future disease outbreaks. The money will be used to support the CEPI’s efforts in developing vaccines that are effective against deadly diseases.

Efforts include three new programmes to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 300 people and is estimated to have infected over 14,000 people.

The CEPI is aiming to advance vaccine candidates for the coronavirus into clinical testing as quickly as possible.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said: “Vaccines are our best defense against a host of deadly diseases, including coronavirus. The UK is a hub of world-leading and pioneering research, and it is vital that we lead the way in developing new vaccines to target global threats with scientists from across the world.

The £20 million announced today will help our globally recognised vaccine development capabilities continue to develop new defences against emerging diseases including coronavirus. It’s paramount we invest in vital research about infectious diseases, keeping the UK at the forefront of modern-day science so we can share this knowledge globally.”

Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said: “CEPI welcomes the UK’s continued support and funding for our vital work, which comes at a crucial moment as the world races to respond to the emergence of a novel coronavirus. The rapid global spread and unique epidemiological characteristics of the virus are deeply concerning.

Our hope is that, with our partners, we can get an investigational vaccine from gene sequencing of the pathogen through to clinical testing in 16 weeks. The earliest stage of clinical trials (Phase I), to establish the safety of investigational vaccines, would take around two to four months.

This is an extremely ambitious timeline – indeed, it would be unprecedented in the of field vaccine development. It is important to remember that even if we are successful - and there can be no guarantee - there will be further challenges to navigate before we can make vaccines more broadly available.”