Salesforce and Isobar Switzerland partner with CEPI to automate funding and impact management in the fight against emerging infectious diseases

Press Release: Cloud-based grants management solution will help CEPI to manage the entire lifecycle of philanthropic giving

London, U.K.— June 16, 2020—Salesforce, the global leader in CRM, has today announced that the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the leading global alliance which finances and coordinates the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, has partnered with Salesforce and digital experience agency Isobar, a Salesforce Platinum Partner, to help automate the management of funding including COVID-19 vaccine development programmes.

CEPI chose Salesforce.org, the social impact business unit of Salesforce, to implement the solution and provide customer success support. Using a cloud-based grants management solution built on Salesforce Customer 360, CEPI will manage the entire lifecycle of philanthropic giving — from eligibility and application, review and evaluation, through to distribution and impact management. Isobar has been a key partner in the development and implementation of CEPI’s new Salesforce solution.

Mads Høgholen, Director of Finance & Operations at CEPI said “CEPI was established in 2017 and has grown quickly to support a varied portfolio of vaccine development projects against emerging infectious diseases. As the work of the organization expands, it is essential that we have the right business systems in place to enable us to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. Our collaboration with Isobar and Salesforce will help us navigate the business transformation process, and we are looking forward to benefiting from their experience and professionalism as we implement this project.”

“Salesforce.org is proud to partner with CEPI and share purpose-built solutions for nonprofits so they can connect, organize and scale,” said Bijan Bedroud, General Manager of EMEA , Salesforce.org. “In partnering with CEPI, we are enabling the streamlined management and disbursement of resources that will effectively help organizations who are innovating to fight this pandemic. CEPI is leveraging technology to accelerate impact at a time when it is needed the most.” 

Patrik Gamryd, CEO at Isobar Switzerland, said: “CEPI has become one of the leading actors working on COVID-19 vaccine development. In these intense and demanding times, it is especially important to keep up with business transformation. We are proud to be acting as an extended team and supporting CEPI to become stronger and gain efficiency despite the COVID-19 crisis. Together with our technology partner Salesforce we are able to help this important organization make an impact.”

Stephane Viallet, VP, Global Agency Alliances, Salesforce, said: “We are excited to see CEPI innovate using Salesforce to implement an agile, purpose-built platform to help streamline funding that will support the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, including COVID-19. We’re excited to see global digital agencies such as Isobar designing and implementing new experiences that leverage the power of Salesforce. This is an example of how the Salesforce ecosystem can come together to drive impact during this challenging time.”

CEPI will continue to leverage its partnership with Salesforce and Isobar to streamline its operations, including speeding up HR and legal processes such as contract approvals.

About CEPI

CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations, launched at Davos in 2017, to develop vaccines to stop future epidemics. CEPI has moved with great urgency and in coordination with WHO in response to the emergence of COVID-19. CEPI has initiated nine partnerships to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus. The programmes will leverage rapid response platforms already supported by CEPI as well as new partnerships. The aim is to advance COVID-19 vaccine candidates into clinical testing as quickly as possible.

Before the emergence of COVID-19 CEPI’s priority diseases included Ebola virus, Lassa virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever and Chikungunya virus. CEPI also invested in platform technologies that can be used for rapid vaccine and immunoprophylactic development against unknown pathogens (Disease X). 

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Founded in 1999, Salesforce enables companies of every size and industry to take advantage of powerful technologies—cloud, mobile, social, internet of things, artificial intelligence, voice and blockchain—to create a 360-degree view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.