About us
The R&D Blueprint is a global strategy and preparedness plan that allows the rapid activation of research and development activities during epidemics. Its aim is to fast-track the availability of effective tests, vaccines and medicines that can be used to save lives and avert large scale crises. With WHO as convener, the broad global coalition of experts who have contributed to the Blueprint come from medical, scientific and regulatory backgrounds. WHO Member States welcomed the development of the Blueprint at the World Health Assembly in May 2016.
How it began
The West Africa Ebola epidemic saw the mobilization of numerous actors around the world to find medical technologies to address the disease and save lives. Some of those efforts brought results, such as the highly effective VSV-EBOV vaccine, while others showed large gaps in the way the global scientific and R&D community organizes itself during an epidemic. The Blueprint coalition considers those to be lessons gained and has developed a plan that leverages the successes and addresses the gaps /so that next time the world can be prepared.
How does the Blueprint work?
The R&D Blueprint uses a list of identified priority diseases. For each disease an R&D roadmap is created, followed by target product profiles. This is then used to guide the response to outbreaks in both urgent action and in developing ways to improve the global response for future epidemics.
Contact
Documents
An R&D Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics
Experience with past epidemics highlights the need, and the opportunity, to improve emergency preparedness. It also underlines the importance of research...
Our Team
Virginia Benassi
Technical Officer
R&D Blueprint
Dr. Ana Maria Henao Restrepo
Medical Officer
R&D Blueprint
Claudia Nannei
Health Economist
R&D Blueprint
Dr. Marie-Pierre Preziosi
Medical Officer
R&D Blueprint
Ximena Riveros
Technical Officer
R&D Blueprint
Dr. Vaseeharan Sathiyamoorthy
Coordinator
R&D Blueprint
Our work
Scientific Advisory Group of the research and development blueprint
WHO has convened a broad global coalition of experts to develop the blueprint and a platform for accelerated research and development. The R&D Blueprint was well received by Member States at the World Health Assembly in May 2016.