£33.2m to protect public from future epidemics and pandemics

Lives could be saved and the public better protected against future epidemic and pandemic threats through a £33.2 million government investment in vaccines against some of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.

Infectious diseases do not respect borders and outbreaks overseas can escalate quickly and pose risks to people in the UK and abroad.

This investment will help scientists develop, test and deploy vaccines faster when new health threats emerge both supporting people in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and in turn protecting the UK by strengthening pandemic preparedness and improving resilience to future epidemic and pandemic threats.

The programme has already demonstrated the value of investing having supported development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. This latest investment will help researchers respond more quickly to future threats.

Supported by the UK Vaccine Network and delivered through Innovate UK, the funding will target diseases including Ebola, Plague, Marburg, Lassa fever, Nipah virus, chikungunya and Mayaro.

Eight projects will advance promising vaccines, clinical trials and technologies that can make vaccine design and manufacture faster and more effective.

The new awards will build the research, clinical trial and technical capability needed to develop, test and deploy vaccines at speed. They will also help make vaccines affordable, accessible and ready for use in countries at greatest risk.

Health Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment, Chris McDonald said: