

Wellcome Leap announces breakthrough in funded project at Caltech: points to new all-in-one vaccine for SARS-like betacoronaviruses – Phase I clinical trials initiated by CEPI.
July 5, 2022
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Image courtesy of Wellcome Leap, Caltech, and Merkin Institute.
© 2022. All rights reserved.
“We couldn’t have done this research this quickly without Wellcome Leap. Period,” Dr. Pamela Bjorkman said. “Leap approached us at a critical juncture of our research and provided us with the funding to allow us to expand into testing in non-human primates. They also helped us clear obstacles and build effective collaborations. I estimate they reduced our timeline from two years to six months, which in lab timelines is unheard of. I am incredibly proud of the work the team did on this and we are looking forward to phase I clinical trials to evaluate our vaccine candidate, which will be funded by CEPI.”

Image courtesy of Wellcome Leap, Caltech, and Merkin Institute.
© 2022. All rights reserved.
“We have talked about the need for diversity in vaccine development since the very beginning of the pandemic,” said Dr. Richard J. Hatchett, CEO of CEPI. “The breakthrough exhibited in the Bjorkman lab study demonstrates huge potential for a strategy that pursues a new vaccine platform altogether, potentially overcoming hurdles created by new variants. I am delighted to announce that CEPI will be supporting this novel approach to pandemic prevention in Phase I clinical trials.
The accelerated speed the study achieved after receiving Wellcome Leap funding facilitated our relationship with them today. The non-human primate data is extremely encouraging and we’re excited to support the next phase of trials.”
This announcement comes two months after Wellcome Leap announced an additional $335M in new funding, with the organization now having over half a billion dollars at work. All Wellcome Leap programs aim to deliver breakthroughs in human health over 5 – 10 years and demonstrate seemingly impossible results on seemingly impossible timelines. Complementary to the five programs in action, the Wellcome Leap Program Seedling budget is used to support projects that demonstrate high breakthrough potential or could become programs in and of themselves.
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