MSD fully funded and attended the roundtable meeting. This report was fully funded by MSD and was fact checked for accuracy and balance only.
Published 13 April 2023
The British Society for Immunology published a policy report ‘Measuring vaccine-induced immunogenicity: Leveraging a COVID-19 legacy for improved public health' to help policy makers and regulators, as well as clinicians, researchers and industry, to better understand, measure and utilise vaccine-induced immunogenicity for long-term benefit to patients and public health, and stronger pandemic preparedness in the UK.
The report is informed by roundtable discussions with experts from academia, industry, government, regulators and clinical medicine to support decision-making and collaboration between these key stakeholders. It outlines recommended interventions to cement the legacy from COVID-19 and ultimately, bolster the UK’s pandemic preparedness and greatly benefit the NHS and the public.
Recommendations summary
- Immunogenicity research being recognised as a central part of the UK's pandemic preparedness plans
- Defining a toolbox of companion diagnostics to support vaccine development, licensing, and adoption
- Establishing a UK vaccinology network based on pandemic models of working, with continued funding and strong leadership, to address key questions in immunogenicity
- Further inclusion of people with weakened immune systems in research, licensing and surveillance programmes for vaccines
- Developing methods for predicting how well a vaccine will prevent transmission through further research on mucosal immunity
- Bridging the gap between immunogenicity studies and real-world data by continuing the use of point-of-care and at-home testing
- Standardisation of high-quality assays for immunogenicity including guidance to the scientific community on the requirements for development
“Increasing our understanding about how vaccines provoke an immune response through measuring immunogenicity will make a significant difference in our ability to develop and deploy effective vaccines to protect our communities including the clinically vulnerable. This British Society for Immunology report explains how we can unlock immunogenicity’s full potential by breaking down barriers between academia, industry, clinical medicine, regulators, and government, and investing in our R&D sector to ensure that we have the funding, skills, and capacity to leverage the legacy of COVID-19 for the ultimate benefits of public health and pandemic preparedness.”
Professor Alex Richter, Chair of the roundtable for this report and Director of the Clinical Immunology Service at the University of Birmingham
If you would like further information, please contact BSI Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Matthew Gibbard at M.Gibbard@immunology.org.