CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, has expanded its partnership with Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals to rapidly advance the development and manufacture of Clover’s protein-based COVID-19 S-Trimer vaccine candidate, which is based on Clover’s proprietary Trimer-Tag vaccine technology platform.
 
CEPI will make an additional investment of $66 million upfront in S-Trimer which will immediately fund preclinical studies, the execution of Phase 1 clinical trials, and preparation of sites globally for an efficacy trial. In parallel, this investment will support scale up of Clover’s manufacturing capacity to potentially allow the production of hundreds of millions of doses per year. The results of these clinical trials and initial manufacturing scale-up activities will inform planning for efficacy trials and full manufacture of the vaccine. If the early stage clinical development is successful, the partnership agreement anticipates CEPI providing significant additional investment which will fully fund the S-Trimer vaccine candidate through to licensure in China and globally.
 
This agreement builds on CEPI’s initial partnership with Clover, announced in April 2020, which supported the preparations and initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine candidate which began enrolling participants on 19 June 2020.
 
Clover is exploring development pathways for the S-Trimer vaccine to be made accessible to populations in China and globally, if it is proven to be safe and effective. In line with CEPI’s commitment to equitable access, under the terms of the agreement it is anticipated that vaccine output funded by CEPI’s investment will be procured and allocated through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility. The COVAX Facility aims to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, at all levels of development, that wish to participate.
 
“The expansion of our partnership with Clover is an important step forward in our efforts to develop a safe, effective and globally accessibly vaccine against COVID-19,” said Richard Hatchett, chief executive officer, CEPI. “Clover’s S-Trimer is a promising vaccine candidate with the potential to be scaled up to produce hundreds of millions or even one billion doses per year, so it could play a significant role in controlling this pandemic. CEPI’s investment will fund clinical development and initial manufacturing scale up activities in parallel, with the aim of greatly compressing timelines so that if the vaccine is proven to be safe and effective it can be given to those who most need it as soon as possible.”
 
Joshua Liang, chief executive officer, Clover and co-inventor of COVID-19 S-Trimer vaccine candidate, said, “We are honored to receive CEPI’s continued recognition and support, which follows several months of close collaboration. With CEPI’s additional investment and funding commitment, Clover intends to further accelerate the development of S-Trimer including preparing for a global efficacy trial. More than ever, Clover remains focused on developing a safe, effective and accessible COVID-19 vaccine at a scale that could contribute to the control of the pandemic globally.”