BioPREVAIL and CEPI launch biosecurity challenge tied to 100 Days Mission

BioPREVAIL and CEPI have launched a global challenge to fund biosecurity tools that can help vaccine research, development and manufacturing move faster without weakening safety. Three teams will get up to US$50,000 each and six months of support, with a public showcase in Geneva in May 2027.

Why it matters: - Biosecurity risks rise when vaccine work has to move at emergency speed. - The challenge is aimed at practical safeguards that can hold up in real-world outbreak conditions, including resource-constrained settings. - The program is tied to CEPI’s 100 Days Mission, which seeks safe, effective and accessible vaccines ready for initial authorization and scaled manufacturing within 100 days of identifying a new pandemic threat.

What happened: - BioPREVAIL and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations launched the BioPREVAIL x CEPI Biosecurity Innovation Challenge on Sept. 29, 2026. - The global call seeks biosafety and biosecurity solutions for vaccine research, development and manufacturing during epidemic or pandemic response. - Applications close Saturday, Oct. 31 at 11:59 p.m. CET. - Full details and the application form are available at the application page.

The details: - Three teams will be selected for a six-month accelerator delivered by the Global Health Security Fund through BioPREVAIL, in partnership with CEPI. - Each team can receive up to US$50,000 in non-dilutive seed funding, subject to approval of the project narrative and budget. - Teams will keep ownership of their intellectual property. - The program ends with a public showcase in Geneva in May 2027 on the margins of the World Health Assembly. - BioPREVAIL, CEPI, the Global Health Security Fund and Health Innovation Exchange will co-host the showcase. - Travel and accommodation for participating teams will be provided. - The accelerator will include a lead mentor, specialist support in biocontainment engineering, biosafety, regulatory affairs, fabrication, intellectual property and commercialization, and the BioPREVAIL Academy. - The Academy will cover customer discovery, user-centered design, regulatory and intellectual property issues, fundraising, communications and pitch development. - Participating teams will also get office hours, milestone reviews, support from a graduate student associate through the Lester Entrepreneurial Scholars Program at The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, and introductions to funders, investors, procurement channels and implementation partners. - Each project will undergo a structured biosecurity review under the CEPI-NTI Bio Funders Compact.

Between the lines: - The challenge is looking for tools that reduce risk without slowing down urgent vaccine work. - CEPI says the program is meant to turn promising ideas into practical safeguards that can be tested and deployed in constrained settings. - The call favors cross-industry approaches, including adaptations from aviation, engineering, cybersecurity and fraud detection. - Proposals with credible use in low- and middle-income settings will get consideration. - The focus on analysis without transfer, chain of custody, insider risk, rapid confirmation of unusual biological events, compliance systems and the digital-biological interface points to pressure points where speed and security often collide.

What's next: - Applicants must submit a short online expression of interest and a PDF pitch deck. - Shortlisted teams may need to provide a technical annex, budget, partner letters and materials for formal biosecurity review. - Finalists will take part in a live virtual interview before selection. - Eligible proposals must show a substantial, achievable advance that can be demonstrated within six months.

The bottom line: - BioPREVAIL and CEPI are using a small, focused accelerator to push biosecurity innovation closer to outbreak response, with funding, mentorship and a 2027 showcase meant to turn concepts into deployable safeguards.

The details: - The challenge is open to startups, companies, academic and research groups, national and reference laboratories, non-profit organizations and consortia from any country. - Applicants do not need to be based where the solution will be used, but they must explain how the work applies in those settings. - Proposals can include technologies, systems innovations, training approaches and empirical studies. - Priority pathogen areas include Chikungunya, coronaviruses including COVID-19 and MERS, filoviruses, Lassa fever, Mpox, Nipah, Rift Valley fever and novel viral threats with epidemic or pandemic potential. - Priority solution areas include analysis without transfer, chain of custody and tamper evidence, diversion and insider-risk detection, rapid confirmation and attribution of unusual biological events, compliance-to-action systems and safeguards for biological instructions and automated processes. - Proposals outside those areas may still be considered if they fit the challenge scope. - The assessment panel will weigh biosecurity impact, applicability under constraint, feasibility, sustainability, value and team qualifications and availability. - BioPREVAIL describes itself as a One Health innovation initiative focused on sustainable diagnostic containment laboratories and locally grounded biosafety and biosecurity solutions. - The Global Health Security Fund leads development of the BioPREVAIL innovation ecosystem to identify, develop and scale solutions that strengthen laboratory resilience in diverse environments.