European Vaccines Hub for Pandemic Readiness kicks off: FBS among partners

The “European Vaccines Hub for Pandemic Readiness” (EVH), a pan-European centre dedicated to the development of vaccines against pathogens at epidemic-pandemic risk, co-funded by the European Commission's “Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority's (HERA), through the 'European Health and Digital Executive Agency” (HaDEA), is now underway. The EVH project, in which the Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena is involved, together with other strategic actors of the Siena scene to represent Italy, has received a four-year co-funding under the EU4Health programme of the European Union, with a contribution of 101,995,339.00 euro and an estimated total cost of 169,992,333.00 euro.

This is an important step towards strengthening Europe's capacity to respond to pandemic emergencies, which saw the signing of the agreement and the official kick-off event last May in Siena, involving more than 160 participants from all over Europe, including representatives from all the European institutions involved in the project, HERA, HaDEA, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and representatives from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Universities and Research.

“The EVH represents a transformative initiative to strengthen Europe's ability to respond to future health emergencies - says Rino Rappuoli, Scientific Director of the Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena - By joining forces with the leading vaccine developers in Europe, we intend to stimulate innovation and ensure strategic autonomy in vaccine R&D and production.”

The EVH consortium is composed of 11 beneficiaries and 13 affiliated and associated entities from 7 European countries, including leading institutions in vaccine development and responsible for anti-pandemic preparedness in their respective countries. The project is coordinated by the Sclavo Vaccines Association ETS (SVA), a non-profit organisation based in Siena and engaged in vaccine research and development, and sees the participation of the Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena (FBS) and the University of Siena. Leading this ambitious initiative are Rino Rappuoli, President of the SVA and Scientific Director of FBS, as project coordinator, and Donata Medaglini, Professor of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology at the University of Siena, Vice-Rector of the University of Siena and coordinator of the Doctorate of National Interest in “Innovation in the diagnosis, prevention and therapy of epidemic-pandemic risk infections”.

A four-pillar strategy: EVH will focus on the development of vaccines against pathogens at risk of epidemic-pandemic infections. Its structure is divided into four strategic areas: discovery and development of technologies for vaccines and monoclonal antibodies, led by the Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena (Italy); pre-clinical studies, by the Pasteur Institute (France); clinical studies, managed by Vaccinopolis (UAntwerpen, Belgium); and production, coordinated by DZIF and ZEPAI (Germany). Through this organisation, the EVH project will contribute to the creation of an integrated vaccine research and development system in Europe, ensuring effective coordination of national programmes and a rapid and effective response to future pandemic emergencies.

EVH will serve as a European centre of excellence for vaccine and monoclonal antibody development, integrating advanced vaccine technology platform research, pre-clinical and clinical trials and manufacturing capabilities. This integrated approach will create a dynamic and collaborative environment capable of responding rapidly to future pandemic threats.

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About the project EVH

Title: European Vaccines Hub for Pandemic Readiness

Acronym: EVH

Duration and start date: 4 years starting 1 March 2025

Coordinator: Sclavo Vaccines Association (Italy)

Total project cost: 169,992,333 euro

European Commission funding: 101,995,399 euro

Co-funder: European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), European Commission

Composition of the EVH Partnership - 11 Beneficiaries and 13 Affiliated and Associated Entities from 7 European countries

 

Beneficiaries:

- Sclavo Vaccines Association ETS (Italy)

- Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena (Italy)

- Institut Pasteur (France)

- University of Antwerpen - Vaccinopolis (Belgium)

- Deutsches Zenturm fur Infektionsforschung - (Germany)

- The Center for Pandemic Vaccines and Therapeutics - ZEPAI (Germany)

- Leiden University Medical Center (The Netherlands)

- Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)

- Folkehelseinstituttet- Norwegian Institute of Public Health (Norway)

- University of Siena (Italy)

- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnologica (Portugal)

Affiliated entity:

- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (Italy)

- Models of infectious diseases and innovative therapies - CEA (France)

- Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (France)

- Philipps University of Marburg (Germany)

- Helmholtz Zentrum München German Research Centre for Environmental Health (Germany)

- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (Germany)

- Clinical Centre of the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (Germany)

- Foundation of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover (Germany)

- Technical University of Munich (Germany)

- Clinical Centre of the University of Cologne (Germany)

- University Medical Centre of Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany)

- Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (Germany)

Associated Entity:

- Pasteur Network (France)