Health: HERA and CEPI agree on stronger cooperation in the development of medical countermeasures

Today, the Commission's Health Emergency and Preparedness Response Authority (HERA) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) have agreed to strengthen cooperation and information exchange on end-to-end vaccine research and development, manufacturing capacity and capacity building both within the EU and globally. Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic showed how important it is for all key players to come together to work towards the common goal of protecting the public health of everyone, globally. Our cooperation with CEPI will ensure that HERA can continue to improve preparedness and response to serious cross border health threats by also tapping into the considerable expertise CEPI have on emerging diseases, and innovative approaches to vaccine development. Collaboration is how we achieve the best protection for Europeans and citizens globally.” This collaboration will help ensuring that there are no unnecessary overlaps and that resources are used more efficiently. Both sides will exchange information on research, development, manufacturing, and other priorities relevant for medical countermeasures. The Commission is supporting CEPI financially via grants under the HERA Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe budget. See the Letter of Intent here. (For more information: Stefan De Keersmaecker – Tel.: +32 2 298 46 80; Célia Dejond – Tel.: +32 2 298 81 99)