The UK government has announced £33.2 million to fund eight vaccine development projects targeting high-threat infectious diseases.
They are aiming to reinforce global health security and accelerate rapid deployment during future outbreaks.
Delivered through Innovate UK and supported by the UK Vaccine Network, the funding targets pathogens with high epidemic potential, including Ebola, Marburg virus, plague, Lassa fever, Nipah virus, chikungunya, and Mayaro virus.
Five of the eight projects are supported through Official Development Assistance (ODA) to aid vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries.
The initiative builds on the UK Vaccine Network's earlier backing of early-stage platforms that helped develop the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Health Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment, Chris McDonald, said: "The world remains at risk from new and re-emerging infectious diseases, and outbreaks overseas can quickly become threats to people here at home.
"This £33.2 million investment will back leading scientists to develop and deploy vaccines faster and strengthen our pandemic preparedness while supporting our world-leading life sciences sector.
"By investing before a crisis hits, we can better protect the public, save lives and ensure the UK is ready to respond to future threats."
Global outbreaks continue to demonstrate an urgency for further research. Ebola carries an average case-fatality rate of roughly 50%, while Marburg outbreaks in Rwanda and Tanzania over recent years have highlighted the absence of approved vaccines or dedicated antivirals.
Other recent alerts overseas include a fatal suspected pneumonic plague case in Russia’s Irkutsk region and ongoing Ebola transmission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
