United States-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals has received funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to produce vaccine candidates against Lassa fever and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, it was reported on Friday.

CEPI will fund up to USD56m to support the company's pre-clinical and clinical advancement through Phase two of INO-4500, its Lassa fever vaccine, and INO-4700, its MERS vaccine.

The shared aim of Inovio and CEPI is for the Lassa and MERS vaccines to be offered for emergency use as soon as possible. This is the second company agreement that CEPI has signed since its launch in 2017. These collaborations are claimed to represent an innovative approach to funding vaccine development, unlocking research and development potential so that vaccines are ready for efficacy studies during an outbreak. The contract will allow funding for the company's development efforts over a five-year period. The collaboration agreement also includes options, not counted in the total above, to establish investigational stockpiles of both vaccines.