Press Releases

‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, October 7, 2021 - Vaccination is one of the most impactful public health interventions in history, saving the lives of an estimated 2.5 million people[1] every year and protecting millions more from illness and disability. Classical vaccine research and development timelines remain nevertheless long and costly, as it takes on average more than 10 years and costs more than €800 million[2] to bring a new vaccine to the market. Leveraging advances in technology and data science will be instrumental in providing new paths to vaccine development as the accelerated development of COVID vaccines demonstrated. Inno4vac is a new interdisciplinary project funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI2) that aims to foster health innovation by incorporating scientific and technological breakthrough from the academic and biotech sectors into industry. It is coordinated by the European Vaccine Initiative (Germany), with the support from the Sclavo Vaccines Association (Italy), for the scientific coordination, and involves 41 partners from 11 different European countries, including 37 academic institutions and SMEs, as well as GSK, Sanofi Pasteur, CureVac and Takeda as industry partners. “Never before has the speed of scientific breakthroughs been so crucial. To meet the increased demand for novel vaccines and deliver new products into clinical evaluation faster, researchers need access to the latest technologies. At ENPICOM, we develop tools to decode the immune system and which have the potential to profoundly impact the R&D timelines,” said Jos Lunenberg, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at ENPICOM. “We are proud to contribute to this innovative program, help scientists tackle urgent vaccine discovery challenges, and explore ways to optimize and accelerate the availability of new drugs to fight emerging diseases.” Four main areas are addressed by Inno4vac in an integrated manner: 1. artificial intelligence will be used for in silico vaccine immune response and efficacy prediction; 2. a modular computational platform will be developed for in silico modelling of vaccine bio-manufacturing and stability testing; 3. new and improved controlled human infection models (CHIM) of influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Clostridium difficile will be established to enable early vaccine efficacy evaluation, and 4. novel cell-based human in vitro 3D models will be developed to reliably predict immune protection. The ultimate goal of the combined effort pursued by Inno4vac is to develop more predictive biological and mathematical models of vaccine performance, and thereby to accelerate the development of new vaccines. The design of a sustainability plan will also be carried out by the project partners to ensure the long-term access to the project results, including models, beyond the duration of the Inno4vac project. Quick facts about Inno4vac: Start Date: 01/09/2021 End Date: 28/02/2027 Coordinator: European Vaccine Initiative (EVI) This project has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 101007799. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA. www.imi.europa.eu This communication reflects the author´s view and neither IMI nor the European Union, EFPIA, or any Associated Partners are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein. About ENPICOM ENPICOM is an innovative bioinformatics software engineering company delivering ground-breaking products and customized solutions to decode the immune system and improve human health. With a diverse team of over 25 experts in various disciplines, ENPICOM serves customers from all over the world, ranging from academic research centers doing basic research related to the immune system, to biotech and global pharmaceutical companies focusing on the discovery and development of novel immunotherapies and vaccines. Leveraging a unique mix of immunology knowledge, bioinformatics method development, and software engineering skills, ENPICOM offers a world-class repertoire sequencing data analysis solution – the ImmunoGenomiX (IGX) Platform. IGX is an innovative platform to manage, store, analyze, visualize, and interpret immune repertoire sequencing data from T and B cell receptors. In collaboration with DDL Diagnostic Laboratory, ENPICOM delivers full immune repertoire sequencing and analysis service. For more information, visit enpicom.com. References: 1 Duclos, P., Okwo-Bele, J. M., Gacic-Dobo, M., & Cherian, T. (2009). Global immunization: status, progress, challenges and future. BMC international health and human rights, 9 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), S2. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-698X-9-S1-S2 via https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/vaccines-the-powerful-innovations-bringing-who-s-mission-to-life-every-day 2 Douglas, R. G., & Samant, V. B. (2018). The Vaccine Industry. Plotkin's Vaccines, 41–50.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-35761-6.00004-3