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An independent expert review commissioned by the Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) confirms that the four-year project coordinated in Cologne has made a successful contribution to preparing for future pandemics. In particular, the registry for those interested in clinical vaccine studies, the network of trial sites and the training course for healthcare professionals will continue beyond the end of the project.
The VACCELERATE research project, funded by the European Union to accelerate vaccine development and coordinated under the leadership of the Institute of Translational Research at the CECAD Cluster of Excellence on Aging Research at the University of Cologne, has been successfully completed after four years.
Independent experts were appointed by the Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), which implements EU programmes on behalf of the European Commission. They evaluated the project and prepared the ‘General Project Review Consolidated Report’. The overall assessment of the project is positive. According to this report, VACCELERATE has achieved its key objectives and milestones, demonstrating that established structures will strengthen European vaccine and pandemic research in the long term.
From January 2021 to January 2025, VACCELERATE was conducted under the coordination of Professor Dr Oliver A. Cornely, infectious disease specialist at University Hospital Cologne and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Cologne, and managed by Dr Kerstin Albus.
Together with more than thirty partner institutions from all over Europe, a pan-European trial site network of 525 centres has been established to accelerate and coordinate vaccine studies. Another achievement is the unique Europe-wide Volunteer Registry v-reg with over 100,000 registrations, which facilitates the inclusion of study participants and raises awareness of the importance of clinical research. In addition, harmonized protocols, standardized data structures and new training courses such as the online Study Nurse Course have been developed. The latter provides study nurses with the technical and practical expertise required to conduct clinical trials professionally and qualifies them to liaise effectively with investigators, patients, sponsors, trial sites, and ethics committees.
The independent experts emphasize that they consider v-reg, the Europe-wide Site Network and the Study Nurse Course to be innovations with market potential. These achievements have now been published on the EU Innovation Radar platform.
Professor Cornely says: “With VACCELERATE, we have succeeded in creating a solid framework for vaccine research in Europe. The project has not only generated important insights during the pandemic, but also established an infrastructure that will significantly accelerate future vaccine developments.”
VACCELERATE investigated COVID-19 vaccines in different age groups – from older adults and the general population to children with existing immunity. While the focus was initially on SARS-CoV-2, the experience gained also serves to ensure a rapid response to new or particularly threatening emerging infectious diseases.
Dr Albus adds: “The collaboration with partner institutions from all over Europe has shown how crucial coordinated structures and standardized processes are for the success of clinical research. We are delighted that independent experts have so clearly endorsed our work and recommended the integration of our findings within the future European pandemic preparedness structure.”
With VACCELERATE, the University of Cologne and its partners have established a permanent Europe-wide research infrastructure for vaccine studies. According to the review report, the developed structures are recommended to be integrated within the new European pandemic preparedness structure, the EU Pandemic Preparedness Partnership and the EU Vaccine Hub in the future. The project will thus make a key contribution to strengthening the European research landscape and international pandemic preparedness beyond its duration.
The project has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement number 101037867).
Professor Dr Oliver A. Cornely
+49 221 478 85523
oliver.cornely@uk-koeln.de
https://Innovation radar > Innovation > European volunteers registry
https://Innovation radar > Innovation > Clinical trials sites network in Europe for Phase 2 & 3 clinical development.
https://Innovation radar > Innovation > Nurses course on clinical trials conduct
https://Volunteer registry v-reg
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