Coronavirus: Inovio and Moderna get CEPI funding to develop vaccine

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The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) granted funding to Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Moderna for the development of a vaccine against the new coronavirus that emerged in China last month.

So far, the virus has killed nearly 25 people and infected 830 individuals.

Inovio will use the CEPI grant to carry out preclinical and clinical development through Phase I human testing of its vaccine candidate, INO-4800, matched to the new coronavirus strain.

The company will work with Wistar Institute, GeneOne Life Science unit VGXI and Twist Bioscience to develop the vaccine.

Moderna intends to develop a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine for the virus. The company will use the CEPI funding to manufacture the vaccine.

To design the vaccine, Moderna partnered with the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

NIAID will perform investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies and a Phase I clinical trial in the US.