World Vaccine Congress Europe 2025
Vaccine Insights 2025; 4(7), 235–236
DOI: 10.18609/vac.2025.035
As part of our ongoing coverage of key events in the vaccines space, Vaccine Insights presents a preview of World Vaccine Congress Europe 2025, taking place on October 13–16, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The conference will showcase the latest advances, technologies, and collaborative opportunities in the global vaccine industry. Readers of Vaccine Insights can claim a 20% discount on delegate tickets.
Research & development
Innovation in vaccine platforms is a central theme. Jeffrey Almond (University of Oxford) will chair a pre-congress workshop on Platform Technlogies, which will include a panel on next-generation modalities, including self-amplifying RNA, circular RNA, and peptide-based vaccines, with insights from Robbert van der Most (Vaxxcellence), George Dakwar (CureVac), Joanna Rejiman (Novo Nordisk Foundation Initiative for Vaccines and Immunity) and Rajeshwari Adhiseshan (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).
In the main program, Mark Howarth (University of Cambridge) will define and discuss immunofocusing in the Immune Profiling track, while Matt Higgins (University of Oxford) will address computational approaches immunofocusing and antigen design in the Pre-Clinical Development session.
Clinical development
Sessions on clinical development span trial design, regulatory strategy, and real-world evidence. Walter Straus (Moderna) opens the Vaccine Safety pre-congress workshop, featuring contributors including Ofer Levy (Harvard), Marco Cavaleri (EMA), and Emilie Karafillakis (Vaccine Confidence Project).
AI-driven safety monitoring will be discussed by Miriam Sturkenboom (Vac4EU), while the Clinical Trials track will feature Ingrid de Visser-Kamerling (CHDR) on CHIM models, William Smith (AMR Clinical) on recruitment, and Christine Dalhke (CEPI) on correlates of protection.
In the Partnerships & Access track, Kundai Chinyenze (IAVI), Maria Elena Bottazzi (Baylor College), Moy Bracken (Access to Medicines Foundation) and Dakshina Reddy (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) will explore strengthening local clinical trial partnerships.
Pandemic preparedness & public health threats
The Biothreats & Disease X pre-congress workshop, led by Joris Vandeputte (VacciM), will feature Swati Gupta (IAVI) and Ruben Rizzi (BioNTech) on pandemic-ready vaccine profiles.
A keynote panel moderated by Bassam Hallis (UKHSA) will bring together experts such as Wolfgang Phillip (European Commission), Ivo Classen (EMA), Robb Butler (WHO), Nikki Romanik (Brown University), and Yap Boum (Africa CDC) to discuss global health threats and response strategies.
The Emerging & Infectious Diseases track will include talks from Jerald Sadoff (Centivax) on MERS-CoV, Bart Haagmans (Erasmus MC) on Merbecoviruses, and Kashmira Date (Pfizer) on diagnostics and surveillance.
A dedicated track on the pressing issue of antimicrobial resistance, chaired by Jan Poolman, will highlight vaccine development for drug-resistant infections. A keynote panel on vaccines & AMR will feature experts such as Timothy Cooke (Omniose), Ed Buurman (CARB-X), Charlie Weller (Wellcome), Rino Rappuoli (Scalvo Association), Morwenna Carrington (UK Health Security) and Jamie Findlow (Pfizer) discuss how commitment can be turned into practical action.
Manufacturing & supply chains
Martinus Cappelle (J&J) will chair a session on innovative manufacturing technologies, including VLP automation and RSV stabilization. Zoltán Kis (University of Sheffield) will present RNAbox, a continuous RNA production platform.
The Supply & Logistics session will feature presentations on end-to-end vaccine supply chains, with contributions from from Giovanna Riggall (Unimed), Jack Moss (UKHSA), And Christopher Green (University of Birmingham).
Special populations
In this session, Geert Leroux Roels (University of Ghent) and Kristen Maertens (University of Antwerp) will examine gender-based reactogenicity and maternal immunization. Elsewhere, Chelsea McLean (J&J Innovative Medicine) will share insights about immunogenicity in pregnancy gained from J&J’s Ebola vaccine trial.
The closing keynote, moderated by Britt van de Ven (HollandBio), features Jerome Kim (IVI), Jennifer Moisi (Pfizer), Jane Barratt (International Federation on Ageing), and Melanie Saville (PATH) debating the future of adult vaccines.
Readers of Vaccine Insights can claim a 20% discount on delegate tickets—just use the code VI20! You can find out more about the event here.
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