CEPI and Themis partner for vaccines

Themis Bioscience will develop vaccines for Lassa fever and MERS through a partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a public-private partnership. CEPI will put up to $37.5 million toward the project, which the partners expect will support the vaccines through Phase II clinical trials. This marks the first investment by CEPI, which was founded last year by the governments of Norway, Germany, India, and Japan; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Wellcome Trust; and the World Economic Forum. It seeks to raise $1 billion.