CEPI prioritises Rift Valley fever vax

Norway-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has signed an implementing partner agreement with Integrum Scientific (US) as part of its ongoing efforts to combat Rift Valley fever (RVF)—one of its priority diseases with epidemic potential. Under the new partnership, serum material donated from patients recovered from RVF will support the development of an International Antibody Standard, a reference tool used when assessing the immune response induced by RVF vaccines undergoing clinical trials. The programme of work will also enable the calibration and validation of vaccine tests or assays so that accurate and standardised results on the immunogenicity of different RVF vaccines can be produced. Integrum Scientific is now collecting serum from RVF survivors’ across sites in Uganda through a partnership with the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and will continue through to September 2021.