Inno4Vac

Innovations to accelerate vaccine development and manufacture

Summary

Vaccines are a huge public health achievement, saving an estimated 2.5 million lives every year and protecting millions more from illness and disability. However, developing new vaccines is extremely time consuming, costly and risky; on average it takes over 10 years and costs more than EUR 800 million to bring a vaccine to the market.

However, in recent years, researchers in academia and biotech companies have made huge strides in fields such as immunology, big data and artificial intelligence. These advances could potentially speed up the development of new vaccines and make the whole process more efficient.

The aim of Inno4Vac is to harness these advances and incorporate them into the vaccine industry. The project brings together experts in clinical research, immunology, microbiology, systems biology, mathematical models, and regulatory issues.

This diverse team will focus on four key areas. Two areas focus on in silico (i.e. computer-based) tools. One will see the project use artificial intelligence, big data analysis and computational modelling to build an open access, cloud-based platform for developing vaccines and assessing their efficacy in silico. The second in silico area focuses on developing a modular computational platform for modelling the manufacture and stability testing of vaccines.

The other two areas focus on lab-based tools. One will develop new and improved models of certain diseases such as flu that can be used to study vaccine efficacy early in the development process. The other aims to deliver models based on human cells that will offer a more reliable view of the level of immune protection a vaccine could offer.

Throughout the project, the partners will develop strategies and roadmaps to ensure that their models meet the needs of medicines regulators and integrate them into vaccine development processes.

Ultimately, the models developed by the project should help to make vaccine development both faster and more efficient.

Achievements & News

Participants

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EFPIA companies
  • Curevac AG, Tubingen, Germany
  • Glaxosmithkline Biologicals SA, Rixensart, Belgium
  • Sanofi Pasteur SA, Lyon, France
  • Takeda Pharmaceuticals International AG, Glattpark-Opfikon (Zurich), Switzerland
Universities, research organisations, public bodies, non-profit groups
  • Academisch Ziekenhuis Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
  • Academisch Ziekenhuis Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands
  • Association Internationale De Standardisation Biologique Pour L'Europe(Iabs-Eu), Lyon, France
  • Bundesinstitut Fur Impfstoffe Und Biomedizinische Arzneimittel, Langen, Germany
  • Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
  • Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
  • European Vaccine Initiative E.V, Heidelberg, Germany
  • Forschungszentrum Julich GMBH, Juelich, Germany
  • Goeteborgs Universitet, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Helmholtz-Zentrum Fur Infektionsforschung GMBH, Braunschweig, Germany
  • Imperial College Of Science Technology And Medicine, London, United Kingdom
  • Inesc Tec - Instituto De Engenhariade Sistemas E Computadores, Tecnologia E Ciencia, Porto, Portugal
  • Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
  • Klinikum Der Universitaet Zu Koeln, Cologne, Germany
  • Lunds Universitet, Lund, Sweden
  • Medicines And Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, London, United Kingdom
  • Nova Id Fct - Associacao Para A Inovacao E Desenvolvimento Da Fct, Caparica, Portugal
  • Rijksinstituut Voor Volksgezondheid En Milieu, Bilthoven, Netherlands
  • Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
  • Sclavo Vaccines Association, Siena, Italy
  • Stiftung Tieraerztliche Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany
  • The University Of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
  • Universita Degli Studi Di Siena, Siena, Italy
  • Universitatsklinikum Jena, Jena, Germany
  • Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
  • Universitetet I Bergen, P.O. Box 7800, Bergen, Norway
  • Universitetet I Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • University College London, London, United Kingdom
  • University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies (<€500 m turnover)
  • 2-Control Aps, Herning, Denmark
  • Enpicom BV, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
  • Insilico Biotechnology AG, Stuttgart, Germany
  • Mct Bioseparation Aps, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
  • Pharmalex Belgium, Mont Saing Guibert, Belgium
  • Stichting Centre For Human Drug Research, Leiden, Netherlands
  • Viroclinics Biosciences BV, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • Vismederi SRL, Siena, Italy

Participants
NameEU funding in €
2-Control Aps210 000
Academisch Ziekenhuis Groningen292 534
Academisch Ziekenhuis Leiden2 345 773
Association Internationale De Standardisation Biologique Pour L'Europe(Iabs-Eu)387 589
Bundesinstitut Fur Impfstoffe Und Biomedizinische Arzneimittel437 131
Danmarks Tekniske Universitet621 728
Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen438 484
Enpicom BV298 750
European Vaccine Initiative E.V1 698 968
Forschungszentrum Julich GMBH140 000
Goeteborgs Universitet222 920
Helmholtz-Zentrum Fur Infektionsforschung GMBH353 625
Imperial College Of Science Technology And Medicine1 818 098
Inesc Tec - Instituto De Engenhariade Sistemas E Computadores, Tecnologia E Ciencia298 750
Insilico Biotechnology AG13 000
Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg331 641
Klinikum Der Universitaet Zu Koeln366 490
Lunds Universitet175 000
Mct Bioseparation Aps150 000
Medicines And Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency535 801
Nova Id Fct - Associacao Para A Inovacao E Desenvolvimento Da Fct97 731
Pharmalex Belgium470 000
Rijksinstituut Voor Volksgezondheid En Milieu400 070
Sciensano377 148
Sclavo Vaccines Association432 058
Stichting Centre For Human Drug Research1 829 059
Stiftung Tieraerztliche Hochschule Hannover506 251
The University Of Nottingham120 266
Universita Degli Studi Di Siena489 241
Universitatsklinikum Jena125 000
Universiteit Utrecht142 616
Universitetet I Bergen752 594
Universitetet I Oslo806 523
University College London259 500
University of Oxford366 963
Viroclinics Biosciences BV160 000
Vismederi SRL128 701
Total Cost18 600 003