The new research and vaccine initiative seeks to develop immunizations against influenza, tuberculosis and other deadly respiratory diseases.
Pictured: Novo Nordisk Foundation in Copenhagen, Denmark/iStock, CR
The Novo Nordisk Foundation on Monday announced a $260 million commitment to launch a research and vaccine development initiative, taking aim at some of the deadliest respiratory diseases like tuberculosis and influenza.
The vaccine initiative will be the first to focus specifically on understanding how to elicit immunity in the airway, providing a “potentially revolutionary” approach to blocking respiratory infections and preventing their airborne transmission between humans, according to Monday’s announcement.
The R&D effort, which will be called the Novo Nordisk Foundation Initiative for Vaccines and Immunity (NIVI), will begin in the first quarter of 2024 and will be run in partnership with the University of Copenhagen and Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut.
Novo Nordisk Foundation CEO Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen said in a statement that the COVID-19 pandemic showed the “extraordinary possibilities” in vaccine development and advancements when the industry commits its focus and resources to interdisciplinary research.
With NIVI, the Novo Nordisk Foundation and its partners are “building on that momentum and dreaming even bigger—working towards a world where respiratory diseases no longer end the lives of millions of people every year,” Krogsgaard Thomsen said.
NIVI will first focus on three respiratory infections—tuberculosis, influenza and Group A Streptococcus—developing novel vaccines for these diseases that elicit robust local immunity, in turn minimizing their transmission and the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
The effort will also consider the potential vaccine antigens, platforms and delivery methods to increase the chance of a successful candidate, according to the announcement.
To ensure that its basic vaccine research can smoothly transition into clinical development, NIVI will have a unique structure, comprised of two separate and synergistic entities. The first, dubbed the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Vaccines and Immunity (NCVI), will carry out the bulk of its research activities and will be housed at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Immunology and Microbiology.
The second entity is a limited liability company called the Novo Nordisk Foundation Vaccine Accelerator (NVAC), which will license and develop vaccine technologies and prepare the formulations, reagents and assays, as well as coordinate clinical-grade production and testing of potential candidates.
To ensure the close integration of NCVI and NVAC, these two entities will be led by NIVI’s CEO and executive director, who will be announced early next year.
Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. He can be reached at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.
