I-REIVAC Emergence: a national platform for clinical vaccine research on emerging infectious diseases

The I-REIVAC network

Founded in 2007 with an initial four clinical investigation centres, the network gradually evolved to become, in 2014, a national network of excellence in clinical vaccine research, the Innovative Clinical Research Network in Vaccinology (I-REIVAC), accredited by the French Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (F-CRIN), the French arm of the European Vaccelerate programme.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the network expanded considerably and now comprises more than 30 clinical investigation and clinical research centres (CICs and CRCs), associated with biological resource centres (CRBs) and approximately ten vaccine immunomonitoring laboratories. During this period, I-REIVAC coordinated 13 clinical studies and helped structure clinical vaccine research in France through the COVIREIVAC project (2020–2022), with nearly €6.9 million in funding from the ministries responsible for health and research.

The I-REIVAC Emergence platform

The I-REIVAC Emergence platform aims to strengthen the organisation of the national I-REIVAC vaccinology research network so that it can respond rapidly and effectively to future infectious threats by developing innovative solutions and providing the scientific evidence needed to inform decision-making.

The I-REIVAC Emergence platform receives €12 million in funding over five years from the French National Research Agency (ANR-24-MIEM-0002), under Measure 6 of the national strategy on “Emerging infectious diseases and nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical threats”, part of the France 2030 plan. The platform is jointly led by Inserm / ANRS MIE and AP-HP.

Objective and activities of the I-REIVAC Emergence platform

The platform’s objective is to consolidate and strengthen existing infrastructure to increase France’s capacity to respond rapidly and effectively to vaccine research needs during future outbreaks, ensuring effective coordination between stakeholders.

The project draws on a core network selected for its expertise in vaccinology:

• 10 frontline university hospitals, mobilising their clinical investigation centres and biological resource centres (10 CICs and eight CRBs).
• Six frontline vaccine immunomonitoring laboratories.
• Three methodology and management centres (CMGs).

Eight areas of action have been defined to ensure an optimal response during a crisis:

1. Coordination, operations and governance of the stakeholders involved, both between and during crises, to ensure the rapid mobilisation of resources.
2. Scientific coordination and development of clinical vaccine research, particularly to accelerate the launch of clinical trials.
3. Strengthening CIC resources by securing long-term medical staffing that can be mobilised immediately in response to an emerging threat.
4. Establishing interoperability in trial methodology by developing template protocols ready for deployment at any time and standardising data management (CMGs).
5. Establishing sample management through the CRB network in collaboration with national biobanks, including automation, standardisation and certification of sample preparation procedures.
6. Optimising the reproducibility of results from immunomonitoring laboratories, including automation, standardisation and certification of immunological assays.
7. Developing the national registry of volunteers ready to be mobilised to advance vaccine research in France.
8. Promoting humanities and social sciences research, particularly on the acceptability of vaccination and vaccine research, to anticipate responses to vaccination campaigns and develop appropriate communication strategies.

National and European perspectives

The I-REIVAC Emergence platform works closely with French and European health networks to coordinate responses to cross-border outbreaks:

• OPEN ReMIE, a platform for therapeutic clinical research.
• EMERGEN 2.0, a platform for genomic surveillance and research on infections caused by emerging pathogens.
• PedStart, for vaccine research in paediatric populations.
• The P4 laboratory in Lyon, to enable responses to the most severe infectious threats.
• The European Vaccine Hub (EVH), an initiative of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).

With its network of excellence comprising CICs, CRBs, vaccine immunomonitoring laboratories and CMGs, a strong coordination team and strategic collaborations, I-REIVAC Emergence is becoming a leading centre for clinical vaccinology.

Recent health crises have shown that, during an outbreak, every day counts. By preparing infrastructure, researchers and protocols before a crisis occurs, I-REIVAC Emergence aims to ensure a rapid, ethical and effective scientific response to protect everyone’s health.

§ HERA is an authority established by the European Commission that helps bring surveillance and research closer together to support the introduction of products to the market and, ultimately, make Europe more resilient to pandemics.