Vax2Muc researchers discuss vaccine development progress in Copenhagen

Vax2Muc partners met in Copenhagen from March 13 to 14 to discuss vaccine research progress. With the vaccine design ending, the project's next stage will focus on trial vaccine production.

Vax2Muc researchers are looking to develop next-generation vaccines that will help fight the ever-growing threat of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Their work is of paramount importance in combatting infections of the mucosal membrane in the intestinal tract, more specifically those caused by the bacterium Heliobacter pylori. This bacterium, affecting half of the world's population, carries a high risk of developing into stomach cancer. 

Over the first eight months of the project, the research teams from across Europe have been working in close collaboration to design the vaccine based on research results from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), one of the project partners. They have taken on the challenging job of developing a vaccine to protect against bacteria in the mucosal membranes, where the necessary local immunity is not created after normal vaccination. A new vaccine technology is therefore required. If they succeed, this approach could also be applied against other infections in the intestinal tract.

With this exciting prospect in mind, the researchers discussed the upcoming steps in vaccine development related to producing a trial vaccine for clinical testing in humans.

Participants of the Vax2Muc progress meeting in Copenhagen.

Vax2Muc is funded by the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and runs for five years until June 2028.