From Bench to Bed: Where are We (lost?) in TranslationONLINE ONLY

The immune responses elicited by vaccines should be tailored to maximize protection, albeit reducing risk for adverse events. Adjuvants (immune stimulators) are a key tool to achieve this goal. However, the true worth of a new adjuvant can be only assessed in first in man studies, which in turn require their co-formulation with an antigen requiring adjuvantation for an indication addressing a clinical need. What are the problems faced if you want to go beyond “publishing papers”?

Regardless of how good a vaccine is, at the end of the day not all vaccinees will be equally (good?) responsive to vaccination. Thus, it is critical to dissect the underlying mechanisms of responsiveness. This will allow developing vaccines for poor responders and diagnostics for stratification of vaccinees. To illustrate this point clinical data responses in elderly to influenza vaccines will be presented.

What are the key differences between the development processes for previous vaccines and those targeting COVID-19? What we know or ignore about upcoming vaccines? What knowledge gaps will be addressed before field deployment? Looking into the crystal ball: What are the parameters in terms of risks and benefits that could help us to make an informed decision for us?