911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ

A new initiative to better understand immune responses caused by mucosal vaccines is bringing together academia, the UK government and industry

911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and AstraZeneca (AZ) have launched the , a groundbreaking partnership which aims to further evaluate how mucosal vaccines – most commonly administered in the form of nasal sprays - stimulate immune response and interrupt viral transmission.

The consortium has the potential to revolutionise approaches to preventing respiratory and other mucosal infections.

Launched today at the (ESWI) conference in Valencia, the  partnership across academia, public health agencies and industry will evaluate correlates of protection for existing mucosal (intranasal) vaccines to inform vaccinology and generate insights to potentially guide the development of next generation candidates.

This unique partnership has taken on the challenge of evolving our understanding of how mucosal vaccines stimulate immune response, starting with identifying a correlate of protection which can be used in future clinical trials. Tonya Villafana Vice President, Franchise and Medical & Scientific Affairs, Vaccines & Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca

The multi-year programme will focus on mucosal immunity studies with AstraZeneca’s intranasal live attenuated Influenza vaccine (LAIV) to further understand and define how mucosal vaccines prevent infection, reduce household transmission, and deliver public health impact.

LAIV mimics natural infection by replicating in the nasal mucosa and has been an effective preventive measure against influenza—especially in children—for over 20 years.

Dr Ryan Thwaites, Associate Professor in Respiratory Immunology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ said “Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (LAIV) has been in use for more than a decade and given to millions of people worldwide.

“In order to fully utilise these vaccines even more effectively across populations, the research in this study will identify with more specificity than ever before how the immune system responds to this vaccine, and which parts of this response are important for preventing influenza.

"With cutting-edge tools and techniques, we’re now able to start answering these questions, with a view to making even better mucosal vaccines for the future.”

Tonya Villafana, Vice President, Franchise and Medical & Scientific Affairs, Vaccines & Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca, said: “We are pleased to join with 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ and the UK Health Security Agency to embark on this important collaboration to study mucosal vaccines and their impact on public health. This unique partnership has taken on the challenge of evolving our understanding of how mucosal vaccines stimulate immune response, starting with identifying a correlate of protection which can be used in future clinical trials.”

Why are already-successful flu vaccines worth studying?

The consortium is backed by the UK’s Health Security Agency, which earlier this year identified non-seasonal influenza as one of 24 diseases or pathogens that could pose the greatest risk to public health in a bid to focus and guide preparedness efforts against these threats.

While the AstraZeneca vaccine used in the consortium studies forms part of the ongoing effective vaccination strategy for seasonal influenza across the world, the Consortium studies will focus on the way the vaccines work within the body will enable new potential targets for non-seasonal influenza to be developed.

Yper Hall, Deputy Director of High Containment Biological Services at UKHSA, said: “Mucosal vaccines have the potential to block an infection at the point of entry and so are hugely important. This work with AstraZeneca and 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ will investigate precisely how an effective mucosal vaccine works, so we can accelerate development of new capabilities to improve public health.’’

__

911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ’s role as a convening force for scientific impact

By bringing industry partners, academic research and policy makers together, 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ’s position as a world-leading university is underpinned by collaborative and impactful partnerships such as the MOVE consortium.

Driven by the Science for Humanity strategy, and the launch of the Schools of Convergence Science, 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ is committed to creating real-world impact for communities, countries and corporations across the world.

Discover more about 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ’s School of Convergence Science for Health and Technology, which has the founding mission to work on Preventative Therapies across the world.