Content
Breadcrumbs

Addressing Global Vaccine Manufacturing to Prepare for Future Disease Outbreaks

Sponsored by BMIG and
Part of the BTEC Fall 2021 Seminar Series

Friday, Sept. 24, 2021
10:40–11:30 a.m.

View recording


Matthew Downham, Ph.D.
Matthew Downham, Ph.D.
Sustainable Manufacturing Lead, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

Please join us for this special event presented by BTEC and the Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Interest Group (BMIG) to learn about the challenges of global COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing and distribution, the roles of organizations like the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and governance issues that influence manufacturing challenges.

As the COVID-19 pandemic shows, in a world characterized by increasing population density, human mobility, and ecological change, emerging infectious diseases pose a real and growing threat to global health security. A better system is needed to speed the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases. CEPI was launched at Davos 2017 as the result of a consensus that a coordinated, international, and intergovernmental plan was needed to develop and deploy new vaccines to prevent future epidemics.

According to the World Health Organization, COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. The ACT Accelerator is a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. COVAX is co-led by Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), CEPI, and the WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

Please attend this session to learn more.

Speaker

Matthew Downham, Ph.D.
Sustainable Manufacturing Lead, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

About the presenter

Dr. Downham completed a BSc Hons in industrial biology from South Bank Polytechnic in London, UK; a PhD in biochemical engineering from Birmingham University in the UK; a post-doctoral fellowship in biomolecular sciences at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK; a post-graduate certificate in education from the Bolton Institute in the UK. He was an EU Registered Toxicologist 2010–18 (Royal Society of Biology, UK). He has worked in the biopharmaceutical industry since 1997 for Protherics (UK), Bavarian Nordic & Morphosys (Germany), Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics (Italy), and AstraZeneca (UK). Throughout this time, Dr. Downham worked on pre-/early clinical development of vaccine, antibody or enzyme therapies for infectious, hypertension, inflammatory and oncology indications.

From 2013–2020 he was associate director/head of MSAT/R&D (Influenza Vaccines) and Scientific & Technical Affairs (Influenza & Covid-19 Vaccines) at AstraZeneca. From 2017, Dr. Downham chaired the Vaccines Europe Influenza working group, was treasurer of the IFPMA Influenza Vaccine Supply international task force, and vice chair of the IFPMA Convention on Biological Diversity working group. Since January 2021, Dr. Downham has led Sustainable Manufacturing for CEPI (London, UK).