The Prime Minister established the UK Vaccine Network in June 2015 to ensure that the UK was at the forefront of the global fight against future disease outbreaks. The UK Vaccine Network has identified a range of human diseases with epidemic potential in low and middle income countries for which the development of Vaccine Products is a priority. The Department of Health and Social Care is collaborating with Innovate UK (an arms’ length body of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) in running this competition. Innovate UK has considerable expertise in running competitions of this nature. The competition was open to all organisations that were able to demonstrate that their product or work has a realistic route to market, whether in the short or long term, and is primarily for the benefit of low and middle income countries. Successful projects were awarded a research contract wholly funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and administered by Innovate UK. The Department of Health and Social Care made up to £11,323,617 available to run the competition and fund the successful projects.

This competition supports projects seeking to develop vaccines, vaccine platform technologies and manufacturing technologies that will enable an effective, rapid response during future outbreaks of diseases of epidemic potential in low and middle income countries. The UK Vaccine Network has identified 12 pathogens, which are of particular concern in LMICs, as a priority. The pathogens are: Chikungunya, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, Dengue Virus, Ebola, Hantavirus, Lassa, Marburg, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Nipah, Plague, Q Fever, Rift Valley Fever and Zika. Following the initial stage of funding, successful projects were invited to apply for follow on funding. Four projects received this to undertake later stage, including early stage clinical, work.

Populations of the countries where these diseases occur.