i-diseases
infectious diseases platform
developing interventions in failing markets,
with a strong bias on vaccines
Vaccines for Europe
Infectious diseases have become neglected diseases. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. Even essential investments in novel antibiotics and antivirals are not undertaken, while the infrastructures for the development and production of emergency response vaccines have been widely dis-invested. The so-called developed world
believed it has won the fight against pathogenic microorganisms.
Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the
2019-nCoV (COVID-19)
outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, which requires the rapid development of effective preventive and therapeutic tools. In spite of novel platform technologies making such effort easier and predictable than ever, it will still take at least 18 months to bring a novel vaccine - for example to prevent COVID-19 - to the market.
kENUP Foundation is supporting regulators, scientists and the industry alike to bring (back) sustainable systems for epidemic preparedness across the European Union, and beyond. This includes the creation of sustainable business models around anti-microbial, as well as the establishing of platforms for emergency vaccines development and manufacturing.
"There is a market failure around the development of interventions against diseases primarily affecting the Global South: high risk in product development is associated with little potential profit. So, once a project leaves academia, companies are usually not investing"
Holm Keller, Executive Chairman of kENUP Foundation
overcoming market failures
Alongside our partners in the European Union and beyond, kENUP Foundation promotes the development of preventive interventions aiming at controlling some of the most lethal infectious diseases globally.
As to WHO Global Health Observatory, Tuberculosis, HIV-related illnesses, Polio, Yellow Fever, the Flu and Malaria are estimated to kill above 9.000 people every day (2017 data). To date, there isn't sufficient protection through vaccination for any of them - either because there is no vaccine at all, or the existing vaccines cannot be manufactured at scale.
In a partnership with public promotional banks, private investors, civic society organizations and industry, kENUP Foundation is setting up tailor-made instruments or making use of existing innovative financing vehicles to overcome the barriers associated with markets not incentivised to promote the public good.
For World Malaria Day 2019, a supplement to The Guardian
has been published, describing the nature and aims of our interventions by using Malaria as a case in point. Fight Against Malaria's online presence can be found
here. The campaign is a partnership with Access Challenge, African Leaders Malaria Alliance, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, RBM Partnership to End Malaria, and Speak up Africa.
We are developing projects for
potenial investment by public promotional banks
in the EU
potenial investment by public promotional banks
in the EU
Are you interested?
EU Vaccine Industry Roundtable
The EU Vaccine Roundtable 2019 has been convened by kENUP Foundation, following a suggestion by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety. Aim of the meeting was to provide first-hand information to the European Institutions to support their policy processes in the area. The meeting was conducted under
Chatham House Rules.
On Wednesday August 28, 2019 from 14:00h to 17:00h, 24 participants representing 17 organizations met in the Embassy of the Republic of Malta in Brussels to discuss current market dynamics effecting the European vaccine industry.
Following here are the key findings:
The current business system of the EU vaccine industry is dysfunctional, with disinvestment superseding investments, and, thus, scientific breakthroughs no more making it to the market. The following countermeasures have been discussed and brought up by the different parties:
- Lower vaccine product development cost by reducing regulatory complexity without jeopardizing safety, for example through a reform of protocols for clinical trials and simplification of manufacturing regulations;
- Enhance public interventions by increasing public investments in early phases of vaccine product development;
- Lower vaccine production cost by deregulating manufacturing control, and using low cost manufacturing processes;
- Change procurement procedures by governments for finished product;
- Consolidate vaccination schedules - alongside other alignments - in Member State recommendations;
- Increase the division of labor between academia, specialized development firms, and manufacturers.
The detailed conclusions of the meeting are being published
here.