Towards a sustainable European vaccine infrastructure

Vaccination is one of the most effective public health tools available to humanity. Outstanding achievements of vaccination include the control and eradication of several previously devastating human diseases. Veterinary vaccines, on the other hand, not only protect animal health but also have a direct impact on human health by preventing animal-to-human transmission of zoonotic pathogens and by reducing the use of antibiotics in animal production. The importance of vaccines has been highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis as never before. Acknowledging the urgent need to support the development of novel vaccines, the European Commission (EC) has recently awarded further funding to a large European consortium led by the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI) that aims to explore and prepare the further establishment of a sustainable vaccine infrastructure in Europe. The new project, TRANSVAC-DS (Design study for a European vaccine infrastructure), further builds on the outstanding success and lessons learned of the TRANSVAC1 and TRANSVAC2 projects (www.transvac.org) also funded by the EC and proposes the establishment of a truly sustainable European vaccine infrastructure. The TRANSVAC-DS consortium comprises twenty-five partners from eleven European countries (DE, FR, NL, NO, BE, PT, ES UK, IT, CH and DK) and includes leading academic and research organisations, other research infrastructures and vaccine alliances working in areas related to vaccine development. While TRANSVAC1/2 have made and are making very significant contributions to supporting the development of innovative vaccines through the provision of state-of-the-art scientific-technical services, TRANSVAC-DS will support the conceptual and technical design of a European vaccine infrastructure. Specifically, TRANSVAC-DS will describe in detail the maturity of the concept and deliver a five-year business plan that will guide the further establishment of a sustainable European vaccine infrastructure of direct relevance to and benefit for Europe and further afield. It is hoped that at the end of the two-year project a European vaccine infrastructure can rapidly move into the implementation and operation phases and can efficiently support the development of further innovative vaccines for global health. Quick facts about TRANSVAC-DS: Start Date: 01 June 2020 End Date: 31 May 2022 Coordinator: European Vaccine Initiative (EVI) Project Funder: European Commission, Grant Number 951668 Total Funding: 1.88M EUR