PERISCOPE: IMI/IHI invite PERISCOPE to vaccine impact series on “How IMI projects facilitate innovations in vaccine development and effectiveness assessment”

On 10 November 2023, PERISCOPE contributed to the IMI/IHI impact series on vaccines titled “How IMI projects facilitate innovations in vaccine development and effectiveness assessment”. As part of the event, former coordinator, Prof. Dimitri Diavatopoulos (RadboudUMC), introduced the PERISCOPE project, its contribution to pertussis research and the clinical trials conducted within the framework of the IMI project from 2016 to 2022.

Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease that affects people of all ages, but it is particularly dangerous for infants. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis and is characterized by severe coughing. While pertussis can affect anyone, it is especially dangerous for infants who have not yet received their full series of vaccinations. The disease can lead to severe complications, including pneumonia, seizures, and death. Despite the availability of vaccines, pertussis remains a global health concern.

The event was part of IMI/IHI’s impact series, which discussed the sustainable aspects of IMI projects and their contribution to future research and vaccine development, as well as their capability to perform vaccine effectiveness assessments. PERISCOPE has already demonstrated success in terms of providing access to its cell banks for performing clinical trials on next-generation vaccines. Now focused on boosting the highly-relevant project results in the global health context, the project partners have facilitated several discussions and workshops on the topic of sustainability, giving each other the chance to exchange ideas on how to maximise the impact of results through exchanges with industry and policy makers, and connect with similar initiatives. Furthermore, discussions on future collaborations to foster continued exchange between the partners beyond the project lifecycle have been started.

The PERISCOPE consortium, including all 21 partners, is strongly committed to continuing its collaboration in the future, which will entail regular meetings, mutual publications and attendance of conferences in relevant fields. A first post-project meeting was organised and held in Oxford in March 2023. Furthermore, a dedicated PERISCOPE symposium is also planned to be held adjacent to the next International Bordetella Symposium in Prague in 2024.

More information on the event and the recording can be found on the IMI/IHI website: https://www.ihi.europa.eu/news-events/events/imi-impact-vaccines