The European Commission (EC) launches the coronavirus global response framework to raise €7.5bn to fight the novel infection pandemic. The EU officials have approved the three-pronged approach for the future vaccine.
The EC is going to finance the vaccine’s project in three phases: €4bn to research vaccines, €2bn for treatments and €1.5bn to develop testing kits. The World Health Organization (WHO) hailed the EU’s move, calling to accelerate the development of antivirus drug, treatment and testing capacity.
The initiative was proposed to the G20 group of world leaders by the president of the commission Ursula von der Leyen last month, EU Observer reported.
“We need to develop a vaccine, to produce it and deploy it to every corner of the world,” von der Leyen said ahead of the announcement.
Anti-COVID vaccine as a new R&D international project
Several countries have joined their efforts in the frame of anti-COVID vaccine project. EU confirmed. Saudi Arabia, which holds the current presidency of the G20, the US, France, Germany, Norway and the UK – although Italy has also been invited to join the list.
The above-mentioned countries were selected due to their track-record linked to research and funding initiatives, EU officials said.
“This is an agenda of hope and the commission is deploying its full power to unite countries to find a vaccine and diagnosis treatment as quick as possible,”
There are three phases of the ‘agenda of hope’ project:
- €4bn to research vaccines,
- €2bn for treatments and
- €1.5bn to develop testing kits.
“The money will not go to the European Commission. We are taking the initiative, creating a platform, registering donations, but everything will go directly to the partners”, EU sources specified in the statement and added that a partnership aims to bring together many people. Among them are scientists, regulators, funders, international organisations and product-developers.
Learning the lessons from the COVID-19 epidemic in the EU, the health officials agreed that now there is ‘a fertile ground’ for finding a working vaccine against the coronavirus.
It comes at no surprise that the international partners include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the World Bank.
