Matt Hancock announces £20 million fund to boost efforts in finding coronavirus vaccine
2 min read
Matt Hancock has announced a £20 million fund to help create life-saving vaccines to tackle the coronavirus and other epidemic diseases.
The Health Secretary pledged the multi-million pound boost as the number of cases of the deadly virus in China reached more than 17,000, while 361 people have died.
Nearly 200 Britons are currently under quarantine in the Wirral after last week flying back from Wuhan, where the outbreak began.
Mr Hancock said the Government cash will support the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to advance three new programmes to find cures for the coronovirus.
The World Health Organisation has declared a global health emergency from the illness, which has confirmed cases in Japan, Germany, Australia, Canada and the UK.
Mr Hancock said: “Vaccines are our best defence 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.”
CEPI, which was set up in 2017 originally in response to the Ebola epidemic, is embarking on an “unprecedented” timeline to form a cure.
Chief executive Dr Richard Hatchett said: “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 field of vaccine development.
He added: “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.”
The Government is also said to be in talks with the National Institute for Health Research and the UK Research and Innovation over plans to conduct research to aid the global response to the crisis.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a COBRA meeting last month to discuss how best to tackle the unfolding global threat.
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