In today’s globalized world diseases can travel faster than ever. As a result, an epidemic can easily spread as happened with the Ebola virus in 2014. You may have forgotten how Ebola disrupted world travel and trade, but for those directly involved in managing the crisis it remains a harrowing reminder of how unprepared the world is to protect itself from sudden outbreaks. Hence the formation of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which formally launched at the 2017 World Economic Conference in Davos last week.