UK Department of Health Funding for a Zika and Chikungunya Vaccines

Zika & Chikungunya Vaccine Development: Over £20M Non-Dilutive Funding Success

The Situation: Accelerating Clinical Programs for Neglected Tropical Diseases

GRA partnered with a European vaccine development company facing the common challenge of securing non-dilutive funding to accelerate the clinical and manufacturing phases of their promising Zika and Chikungunya vaccine portfolio. The goal was to secure capital from competitive UK and global grant schemes to rapidly move the programs through CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls), clinical trials, and formulation development, ultimately justifying investment for late-stage development.

GRA's Involvement: Expertise in Vaccine Grant Applications

Our involvement was strategic and hands-on, leveraging our deep understanding of the requirements of major international funding bodies:

• Non-Dilutive Funding Strategy: Scoping and leading the application process for major non-dilutive grant opportunities.
• Business Case Development: GRA worked with Themis Biosciences GmbH to assemble a robust, commercially viable business case for the Chikungunya and Zika vaccine programs.
• Technical Project Planning: Developing detailed CMC, preclinical, and clinical development plans required for grant submission.
• Key Stakeholder Interaction: Managing direct, effective interactions with the Innovate UK SBRI scheme and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) review panels.

Value Added: Over £20 Million in Grant Awards

 The direct results of GreyRigge Associates' expert support were significant and validated by the funding bodies themselves:

• Successful Funding: GRA helped the client assemble an "exemplary" business case (as described by the SBRI review panel) for the Zika and Chikungunya vaccines.
• Financial Award: The applications were all successful, resulting in over £20 Million in total grant funding. This included major awards through Innovate UK (formerly SBRI) for both vaccines, and significant further funding from CEPI for the Chikungunya program.
• Program Management: Following the successful award, GRA was further contracted to project manage key elements of two of the resulting contracts, ensuring successful delivery of the funded milestones.