Singapore, March 26 -- Efforts to advance the first-ever vaccine against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are progressing, with a new investment from Norway-basedCoalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) moving a promising vaccine candidate into preclinical trials.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral illness caused by MERS coronavirus, from the same viral family as COVID-19. Outbreaks can start when the virus spreads from camels to humans. MERS has a higher fatality rate than COVID-19, with up to a third of infections resulting in death.

With up to $2.6 million funding from CEPI, the new MERS vaccine is being developed by Uvax Bio, an early-stage vaccine technology company which is a spin-out of The Sc...