Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a large and diverse group of RNA viruses that sporadically spillover from animal hosts to humans. When CoVs evolve the capacity for sustained human-to-human transmission, spillover events can result in epidemics, pandemics, or endemicity (the constant presence of a disease in a population). Nine coronaviruses are currently known to infect humans. Of these, OC43, NL63, 229E, and HKU1 are endemic and associated with common cold-like symptoms. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has been spilling over from camels since 2012, causing severe disease in humans, with sustained human-to-human transmission in hospital outbreaks (1, 2). SARS-CoV-1 caused an epidemic from 2002–2004 (3), and SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic between 2020–2023 (4). In addition, canine coronavirus-human pneumonia-2018 (CCoV-HuPn-2018) and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) have caused sporadic human infections (5). Find out more about this viral family and CEPI’s R&D efforts in the field here: CoV on CEPI.net

References

  1. Oboho IK, Tomczyk SM, Al-Asmari AM, Banjar AA, Al-Mugti H, Aloraini MS, et al. 2014 MERS-CoV Outbreak in Jeddah — A Link to Health Care Facilities. New England Journal of Medicine. 2015;372(9):846-54.
  2. Sabir JSM, Lam TTY, Ahmed MMM, Li L, Shen Y, E. M. Abo-Aba S, et al. Co-circulation of three camel coronavirus species and recombination of MERS-CoVs in Saudi Arabia. Science. 2016;351(6268):81-4.
  3. Li W, Shi Z, Yu M, Ren W, Smith C, Epstein JH, et al. Bats Are Natural Reservoirs of SARS-Like Coronaviruses. Science. 2005;310(5748):676-9.
  4. Holmes EC. The Emergence and Evolution of SARS-CoV-2.Annu Rev Virol. 2024.
  5. Vlasova AN, Diaz A, Damtie D, Xiu L, Toh TH, Lee JS, et al. Novel Canine Coronavirus Isolated from a Hospitalized Patient With Pneumonia in East Malaysia. Clin Infect Dis. 2022;74(3):446-54.

CEPI's focus areas: 

Broadly protective coronavirus vaccines

CEPI has invested up to US$214.5 million in a portfolio of broadly protective coronavirus vaccine projects. Through these investments, CEPI aims to strengthen global preparedness against a range of coronavirus threats.

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MERS-CoV

CEPI supports five MERS-CoV vaccine candidates, including the most advanced human vaccines in development. Of the three currently active projects, two have completed phase I trials and are preparing for phase II.

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SARS-CoV-2

CEPI established a large and diverse COVID-19 vaccine portfolio, co-founded and co-led COVAX, and funded studies on vaccine effectiveness.

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The coronavirus vaccine library

CEPI has initiated efforts to establish a “coronavirus vaccine library”—a repository of data and knowledge about vaccines targeting 26 prioritised coronaviruses.

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Funding Opportunities 

CEPI’s Innovations to Prepare for Future Epidemics and Pandemics Call for Proposals aims to support CEPI’s mission by advancing a broad range of vaccine innovations for pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential. It will support vaccine research, development and manufacturing innovations for CEPI’s priority pathogens and contribute towards the 100 Days Mission, thereby helping the world prepare for known and future epidemic and pandemic threats.

For more detail on this funding opportunity, including how to apply, please see: Calls for Proposals on CEPI.net

Resources and Publications 

Presentation by Dory Kovacs, PhD May 2025  Development of a Coronavirus Vaccine Library

Tung Thanh Le et al. The COVID-19 vaccine development landscape. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. April 2020; 19

Agrupis, K. A. et al. Effectiveness of CoronaVac primary series with and without booster against hospitalized COVID-19 during the Omicron-predominant epidemic wave in the Philippines: a test-negative case–control study. Expert Review of Vaccines. July 2025; 24(1)

Azure Tariro Makadzange et al. The Real-World Effectiveness of Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccines in Zimbabwe During the Omicron Variant Dominance: A Test-Negative Case-Control Study. Vaccines (Basel). November 2024; 12(12)

Jennifer L Gordon et al. Development of broadly protective coronavirus vaccines: A joint NIAID-CEPI workshop report. Vaccine. April 2025; 30:54

Charles Whittaker et al. Quantifying the impact of a broadly protective sarbecovirus vaccine in a future SARS-X pandemic. Nature Communications. September 2025; 16(1)