CEPI will harness IQVIA’s expertise and resources in implementing global clinical research strategies and procedures to rapidly initiate clinical evidence generation around vaccines and other biological countermeasures in response to future health emergencies.

Collaboration will also support a multi-regional research preparedness initiative to strengthen clinical research capacity in low – and middle-income countries, with an aim to get high quality clinical trials up and running as quickly as possible once an outbreak has been identified.

CEPI/IQVIA collaboration will contribute to the 100 days mission, spearheaded by CEPI and embraced by the G7 and G20, for faster, more equitable responses to future outbreaks and pandemics.

IQVIA, a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services, and The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) today announced a strategic collaboration to advance the 100 Days Mission.

In conjunction with national and regional collaborators, CEPI and IQVIA will aim to enhance the world’s preparedness to rapidly conduct life-saving clinical research for vaccines and other biological countermeasures against emerging infectious diseases. CEPI will harness IQVIA’s extensive clinical research expertise and innovative solutions, as well as its global reach, to support its goal of strengthening pandemic preparedness clinical research capability in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) to accelerate vaccine development when faced with future viral threats.

High-quality, sustainable clinical research capacity in outbreak-prone areas, utilizing standardized processes, protocols, and data management systems, could significantly increase the speed at which data about outbreaks and new vaccines can be generated during future outbreaks of infectious disease. This clinical research preparedness has been identified as a key enabler of the 100 Days Mission: a goal spearheaded by CEPI, and backed by the G7 and G20, which aims to accelerate the time taken to develop safe, effective, globally accessible vaccines against emerging disease outbreaks to within 100 days. The new collaboration between CEPI and IQVIA will provide tools and resources to help enhance research preparedness in underserved regions of LMICs during ‘peace time’ and support trial sites to respond quickly and effectively during outbreaks.

Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said: “Underpinning the 100 Days Mission is the need to get high quality clinical trials up and running as efficiently and swiftly as possible once an outbreak has been identified – wherever in the world that outbreak may be. Preparedness is key to this approach: building sustainable clinical research capacity during ‘peace time’ will enable trial sites to respond and operate at pace when faced with an infectious disease emergency. IQVIA’s world-class clinical research experience, its cutting-edge tools and technologies, and its footprint in LMICs makes it the ideal partner for our ambition to strengthen regionally-led clinical research preparedness, contributing to faster, more equitable responses to future outbreaks and pandemics.”

Alistair Grenfell, President, Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, IQVIA, said: “Recent pandemics have highlighted the lifesaving effect that fast development, testing and manufacturing of effective vaccines can have on the global community. IQVIA’s collaboration with CEPI will support the 100 Days Mission in delivering transformative healthcare worldwide. IQVIA is committed to Global Public Health and through our extensive clinical networks, data, technology, and public health capabilities, we are able to accelerate healthcare innovation for patients globally.”

As part of its mission to enable faster and more equitable responses to future viral threats, CEPI will support the establishment of regional consortia, comprised of and led by national and regional stakeholders, to bolster research preparedness across LMICs. The regional consortia will identify gaps and needs in regional clinical research capability, and oversee the building of sustainable research capacity that can be swiftly put into action to respond to infectious disease outbreaks.

IQVIA will play a crucial role as a global service provider, utilizing its global reach and bandwidth to support the regional consortia and CEPI to fill gaps that will accelerate the generation of high-quality data during an outbreak response. Through this strategic collaboration IQVIA will develop and provide innovative tools and technologies to help facilitate more efficient and standardized studies, particularly in low resource settings; and provide quality management oversight and harmonization to ensure that the highest quality standards are maintained across multiple trial sites and regions. In the event of an outbreak, IQVIA will provide surge capacity to support clinical trial sites, whenever and wherever it may be needed across the globe.