GHDDI's Novel Adjuvant Selected for CEPI’s “Super Adjuvant Library”, Advancing Global Vaccine Development for Emerging Infectious Diseases
On July 31, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) officially launched the world’s first Vaccine Adjuvant Library. GHDDI’s novel vaccine adjuvant A225 was selected into the Library, hosted by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), following rigorous review by CEPI , making it one of the 25 adjuvants included.
The Adjuvant Library: A Critical Arsenal for Future Pandemic Preparedness
Vaccine adjuvants, often termed "immune enhancers" for vaccines, can boost the immune response, creating stronger and longer-lasting protection than vaccines alone. This $2.5 million Vaccine Adjuvant Library project will serve as a "vaccine-adjuvant pairing service," helping vaccine developers rapidly screen for the best combinations to develop more effective vaccines against known infectious disease threats like COVID-19, Ebola, mpox, as well as a potential novel ‘Disease X’ with epidemic or pandemic potential.
Starting from late 2025, CEPI-supported vaccine developers will be able to apply to sample up to 5 adjuvants to pair with their candidate vaccines in preclinical testing, aiming to identify the highest-performing combinations.
GHDDI: China's Commitment to the Global Health Mission
As China's first non-profit drug R&D institution focused on global health, GHDDI actively responds to global public health needs and has contributed significant technical resources to the Vaccine Adjuvant Library.
The selected adjuvant, A225, is a water-soluble TLR7 agonist demonstrating unique technological advantages. Through tight adsorption with aluminum adjuvants, it synergistically induces balanced Th1/Th2 immune responses. At the injection site, it forms a local drug reservoir, enabling sustained drug delivery. This enhances antigen-specific immune responses while maintaining good safety and favorable pharmacokinetic properties.
Furthermore, A225 is synthesized entirely via a chemical route. This ensures batch-to-batch consistency, scalable manufacturing, and cost efficiency. The adjuvant has broad applicability, particularly for vaccine types requiring synergistic antibody and cellular immunity, such as viral vaccines. It holds promise for providing solutions for diseases currently lacking effective vaccines, like Chikungunya fever.
"The selection of our adjuvant for the Global Adjuvant Library is a significant reflection of China's innovative scientific R&D capabilities," stated Dr. Sheng Ding, Institute Director of GHDDI. "This breakthrough stems from GHDDI's years of dedication and accumulation in innovative drug R&D. We will seize this opportunity to actively open collaborations with research institutions and vaccine companies, exploring the synergistic effects of adjuvants with antigens across various disease areas. Together, we aim to advance the application and development of novel adjuvants and continuously explore their potential in preventing and treating other diseases."
Building a Global Health Community Together
“Immune-boosting adjuvants have played a powerful role in transforming our response to deadly diseases over the past century. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic shone a light on the challenges in accessing these vital ingredients, with the rights to adjuvants used in licensed COVID-19 vaccines held by only a handful of companies” explains Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI. “This world-first library will fill the gap by matchmaking vaccines to a range of adjuvants to more rapidly identify the best combinations that could save lives and even stop a future pandemic in its tracks.”
This Vaccine Adjuvant Library project brings together 14 leading institutions developing adjuvants from across the United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Denmark, and Canada. GHDDI will continue to work alongside international partners to contribute to the cause of global health.
About CEPI
Founded in 2017, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is a global partnership spanning the public, private, philanthropic, and civil society sectors. CEPI’s mandate is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biological countermeasures for epidemic and pandemic threats, while ensuring fair and equitable access worldwide. To date, CEPI has supported the advancement of over 60 vaccine candidates or platform technologies. Central to its 2022–2026 plan is the “100 Days Mission”: the ambitious goal of developing safe and effective vaccines against novel pathogens in as few as 100 days.
