BactiVac
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy
Abstract
Vaccines save millions of lives every year and typically work silently in the background, promoting the body's ability to kill the pathogen before an infection is established. Despite this, bacteria still cause around six millions deaths/year in humans and many more in animals, with people in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) disproportionately affected. Worryingly, as anti-microbial resistance (AMR) increases, the number of deaths from infection will rise with devastating personal and economic consequences. One reason bacteria can cause so much harm is because there are many different diseases caused by bacteria for which there is either no vaccine or the existing vaccine does not provide complete protection. New vaccines against bacterial infections will help people in all countries, but most prominently in LMICs. Unfortunately, there are many barriers that currently prevent such vaccines from being developed. These barriers can be for scientific reasons, such as what to put in the vaccine, or economic issues, such as neglect due to lack of commercial viability. To help overcome these barriers and deliver new vaccines to where they are needed, a network is needed that enables scientists, clinicians and companies from around the world to come together and share their skills and knowledge.
This is what the 'BactiVac' bacterial vaccinology network for human and animal vaccines will achieve. The network will be centred in the UK, harnessing the considerable strength already present in the UK in disciplines related to bacterial vaccinology, including immunology, epidemiology, systems biology, clinical trials and support for vaccine licensure. Crucially, the network will build on and foster new partnerships with LMICs, with industry, and manufacturers in developing countries. BactiVac will support bacterial vaccine development from when the idea is conceived to when it is licensed for use in humans or animals, particularly helping at those points where most potential vaccines flounder.
The network will achieve these ambitions by combining a number of approaches.
1. The network will identify which diseases in LMICs caused by bacteria should be prioritised and how the broad vaccine community can be helped to make new vaccines that prevent them.
2. We will provide training grants, particularly for members from LMICs, to learn the skills needed to grow the research and industrial base in vaccinology.
3. By interconnecting the diverse experience and skills within the membership, we will facilitate new partnerships and sharing of information, supported by the creation of a member directory, a BactiVac website and regular newsfeeds, along with an annual networking meeting.
4. To encourage these new partnerships, the network will support small scale 'catalyst' projects through an open annual competition. These projects will grow new areas and partnerships to encourage larger scale funding, accelerate vaccine development and to help overcome the bottlenecks that prevent vaccines going from an idea to a product.
5. Underpinning all of these focused activities BactiVac will provide an advocacy programme that promotes the importance, need and value of vaccines to bacterial infections. This programme will work with the general public, governments and ministries of health, and non-governmental organisations, including key stake-holders in global health policy, such as the WHO and other funding organisations.
Collectively, this will lead to a growth in research and development of new vaccines against bacterial infections and improve lives across the world.
This is what the 'BactiVac' bacterial vaccinology network for human and animal vaccines will achieve. The network will be centred in the UK, harnessing the considerable strength already present in the UK in disciplines related to bacterial vaccinology, including immunology, epidemiology, systems biology, clinical trials and support for vaccine licensure. Crucially, the network will build on and foster new partnerships with LMICs, with industry, and manufacturers in developing countries. BactiVac will support bacterial vaccine development from when the idea is conceived to when it is licensed for use in humans or animals, particularly helping at those points where most potential vaccines flounder.
The network will achieve these ambitions by combining a number of approaches.
1. The network will identify which diseases in LMICs caused by bacteria should be prioritised and how the broad vaccine community can be helped to make new vaccines that prevent them.
2. We will provide training grants, particularly for members from LMICs, to learn the skills needed to grow the research and industrial base in vaccinology.
3. By interconnecting the diverse experience and skills within the membership, we will facilitate new partnerships and sharing of information, supported by the creation of a member directory, a BactiVac website and regular newsfeeds, along with an annual networking meeting.
4. To encourage these new partnerships, the network will support small scale 'catalyst' projects through an open annual competition. These projects will grow new areas and partnerships to encourage larger scale funding, accelerate vaccine development and to help overcome the bottlenecks that prevent vaccines going from an idea to a product.
5. Underpinning all of these focused activities BactiVac will provide an advocacy programme that promotes the importance, need and value of vaccines to bacterial infections. This programme will work with the general public, governments and ministries of health, and non-governmental organisations, including key stake-holders in global health policy, such as the WHO and other funding organisations.
Collectively, this will lead to a growth in research and development of new vaccines against bacterial infections and improve lives across the world.
Technical Summary
Bacterial infections are major contributors to the global burden of disease among humans and animals in LMICs, hampering development. They are particularly problematic where diagnostic facilities are lacking, and treatments are increasingly compromised by the scourge of antimicrobial resistance. Prevention through vaccination is an efficient and cost-effective strategy, but for many bacterial infections, no suitable vaccine is available. A network that champions bacterial vaccinology has the transforming potential to advance bacterial vaccines for LMICs, save lives and promote economic growth. Such a network does not currently exist and is needed now. The network will complement the active and strong support already present for viral outbreak pathogens through the 'UK Vaccines Network' and WHO 'R&D Roadmap' and 'CEPI' initiatives.
BactiVac seeks to redress the current imbalance in global vaccinology, with its vision to facilitate end-to-end LMIC human and animal bacterial vaccine development. It will focus on the transition of promising vaccines from preclinical studies to clinical trials, where many flounder. Bringing together diverse parties with expertise in complementary aspects of bacterial vaccinology and a strong emphasis on LMIC and industry involvement, will help galvanise the community, foster new partnership and disseminate key relevant information. This will be supported by a members directory, website, newsfeeds and annual meetings. Two landscape scoping exercises will assess LMIC priority bacterial diseases for vaccine development and industrial capacities to support translation and clinical development of these vaccines. Catalyst funding will support innovative bacterial vaccine R&D projects and partnerships, and training opportunities to transfer vaccinology skills to LMICs. The network will serves as a global voice for bacterial vaccinology through advocacy initiatives targeting ministries of health and global health policy makers and funders.
BactiVac seeks to redress the current imbalance in global vaccinology, with its vision to facilitate end-to-end LMIC human and animal bacterial vaccine development. It will focus on the transition of promising vaccines from preclinical studies to clinical trials, where many flounder. Bringing together diverse parties with expertise in complementary aspects of bacterial vaccinology and a strong emphasis on LMIC and industry involvement, will help galvanise the community, foster new partnership and disseminate key relevant information. This will be supported by a members directory, website, newsfeeds and annual meetings. Two landscape scoping exercises will assess LMIC priority bacterial diseases for vaccine development and industrial capacities to support translation and clinical development of these vaccines. Catalyst funding will support innovative bacterial vaccine R&D projects and partnerships, and training opportunities to transfer vaccinology skills to LMICs. The network will serves as a global voice for bacterial vaccinology through advocacy initiatives targeting ministries of health and global health policy makers and funders.
Planned Impact
1. LMIC impact
a) Country-wide
The chief beneficiaries of BactiVac are the LMICs where the vaccines, whose development has been supported by the network, will be deployed. Since the network encompasses human and animal bacterial vaccines, the benefit will be to human health through reduced disease morbidity and mortality, and improved food security, with economic development as the end result. This benefit will be felt at the level of the individual, community and country, both in relation to health and economic benefit, as improved health is key to driving development.
b) Priority transformation
Given that a new vaccine takes around 10 years to develop and costs a minimum of $800 million (MacLennan CA and Saul A; PNAS 2013), the full benefit from the network will not just be through direct bacterial vaccine R&D support, but by a change in overall global health culture and positioning of LMIC bacterial vaccine development in the global landscape. This will depend on establishing an effective global presence and voice, and successfully advocating on behalf of bacterial vaccinology. Hence, the BactiVac network can potentially serve a transformational role to effect change in prevailing global vaccine prioritisation and investment to a position that fully encompasses bacterial and more endemic diseases.
Manufacturing
A more immediate LMIC economic impact will be the expansion of vaccine manufacturing capacity, resulting from successful transitioning of new vaccines into clinical development. Developing country vaccine manufacturers are well placed to take on new vaccines that have been de-risked by transition through to successful clinical proof of concept (e.g. tech transfer of bivalent typhoid/paratyphoid A glycoconjugate vaccine from Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health to Biological E, India in 2014). Since this is the vaccine pipeline focus area of BactiVac, an increased number of vaccines should move through to clinical development.
Research Capacity Building
With a strong focus on LMIC involvement in all aspects of BactiVac and prioritisation of 'catalyst: project' and 'catalyst: training' activities to LMICs, a direct impact will be capacity building in all areas of vaccinology in LMICs. This will include support of epidemiology, disease biology and clinical trials activity. An ethos of LMIC member involvement from the earliest stages of vaccine development will help ensure the voice of the vaccines end-users is heard and that they are involved in the vaccine development pathway from the outset.
High Income Country (HIC) impact
Although BactiVac is targeted at LMIC bacterial vaccine R&D, it is conceivable that the normal paradigm of vaccines being developed first for HIC and deployed years later in LMICs may be reversed, allowing HICs to become secondary beneficiaries of these vaccines. This is likely to be especially the case in relation to the travel vaccine market.
All network members
As well as helping LMICs through facilitating LMIC product development, BactiVac will have positive impact among all network members through connecting them to potential partners, disseminating key information, pump-priming pilot studies, supporting training and advocacy measures outlined above. As a successful network, BactiVac would help facilitate the growth of R&D capacity and know-how throughout the network, attract support from funders beyond the MRC, in addition to accelerating vaccines along the R&D pipeline.
Widening research in vaccinology
BactiVac will maintain an open membership stance and outward facing presence to scientists and others in allied fields who may not have considered previously applying their expertise to vaccinology. The impact of this will be to draw new members into the network, thereby increasing the critical mass of expertise available to drive vaccine R&D.
a) Country-wide
The chief beneficiaries of BactiVac are the LMICs where the vaccines, whose development has been supported by the network, will be deployed. Since the network encompasses human and animal bacterial vaccines, the benefit will be to human health through reduced disease morbidity and mortality, and improved food security, with economic development as the end result. This benefit will be felt at the level of the individual, community and country, both in relation to health and economic benefit, as improved health is key to driving development.
b) Priority transformation
Given that a new vaccine takes around 10 years to develop and costs a minimum of $800 million (MacLennan CA and Saul A; PNAS 2013), the full benefit from the network will not just be through direct bacterial vaccine R&D support, but by a change in overall global health culture and positioning of LMIC bacterial vaccine development in the global landscape. This will depend on establishing an effective global presence and voice, and successfully advocating on behalf of bacterial vaccinology. Hence, the BactiVac network can potentially serve a transformational role to effect change in prevailing global vaccine prioritisation and investment to a position that fully encompasses bacterial and more endemic diseases.
Manufacturing
A more immediate LMIC economic impact will be the expansion of vaccine manufacturing capacity, resulting from successful transitioning of new vaccines into clinical development. Developing country vaccine manufacturers are well placed to take on new vaccines that have been de-risked by transition through to successful clinical proof of concept (e.g. tech transfer of bivalent typhoid/paratyphoid A glycoconjugate vaccine from Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health to Biological E, India in 2014). Since this is the vaccine pipeline focus area of BactiVac, an increased number of vaccines should move through to clinical development.
Research Capacity Building
With a strong focus on LMIC involvement in all aspects of BactiVac and prioritisation of 'catalyst: project' and 'catalyst: training' activities to LMICs, a direct impact will be capacity building in all areas of vaccinology in LMICs. This will include support of epidemiology, disease biology and clinical trials activity. An ethos of LMIC member involvement from the earliest stages of vaccine development will help ensure the voice of the vaccines end-users is heard and that they are involved in the vaccine development pathway from the outset.
High Income Country (HIC) impact
Although BactiVac is targeted at LMIC bacterial vaccine R&D, it is conceivable that the normal paradigm of vaccines being developed first for HIC and deployed years later in LMICs may be reversed, allowing HICs to become secondary beneficiaries of these vaccines. This is likely to be especially the case in relation to the travel vaccine market.
All network members
As well as helping LMICs through facilitating LMIC product development, BactiVac will have positive impact among all network members through connecting them to potential partners, disseminating key information, pump-priming pilot studies, supporting training and advocacy measures outlined above. As a successful network, BactiVac would help facilitate the growth of R&D capacity and know-how throughout the network, attract support from funders beyond the MRC, in addition to accelerating vaccines along the R&D pipeline.
Widening research in vaccinology
BactiVac will maintain an open membership stance and outward facing presence to scientists and others in allied fields who may not have considered previously applying their expertise to vaccinology. The impact of this will be to draw new members into the network, thereby increasing the critical mass of expertise available to drive vaccine R&D.
Organisations
- University of Birmingham (Lead Research Organisation)
- Kenyan Institute for Medical Research (KEMRI) (Collaboration)
- JPIAMR Virtual Research Institute (Collaboration)
- Microbiology Society (Collaboration)
- European Vaccine Initiative (EVI) (Collaboration)
- Government of the UK (Collaboration)
- University of Massachusetts (Collaboration)
Publications
Valero-Pacheco N
(2019)
Conservation of the OmpC Porin Among Typhoidal and Non-Typhoidal Salmonella Serovars.
in Frontiers in immunology
Taylor M.
(2021)
Inherent maternal type 2 immunity: Consequences for maternal and offspring health
in Seminars in Immunology
Sánchez-Vargas J
(2023)
From shake flask to bioreactor: Production of Salmonella Typhi porins as a typhoid vaccine candidate
in Biochemical Engineering Journal
Sirikorn.K
(2021)
Modulation of the mucosal immune response of red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) against columnaris disease using a biomimetic-mucoadhesive nanovaccine
in Fish and Shellfish Immunology
Siggins M
(2021)
Bacterial Lymphatic Metastasis in Infection and Immunity
in Cells
| Description | 1. An international vaccine network established of over 1,450 members across 79 countries 48% of membership from LMICs, 13% of membership from industry 2. A network members directory established, Twitter following of 1,947 built and bimonthly newsletter of bacterial vaccinology sent to members 3. 61 catalyst projects funded, 49 completed with £16.4M follow-on funding leveraged by projects and 27 publications to date 4. Training courses held aimed at LMIC members of the network on grant writing, project management, communication and advocacy 5. A two-day virtual network conference held in 2021 with over 200 participants and internationally renowned speakers 6. A three-day in person annual network conference held in Kenya in 2022 with ~150 participants and internationally renowned speakers 7. Ongoing network advocacy for bacterial vaccines at national and international levels |
| Exploitation Route | Outcomes of this funding are being used to accelerate the development of bacterial vaccines globally through multiple means including 1. Pump-primed projects now supported by Wellcome, CARB-X, NIHR, EC, MRC and other funders 2. Global outreach advocacy 3. Increased interactions between industry and academia in the bacterial vaccines space |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/immunology-immunotherapy/research/bactivac/index.aspx#:~:text=BactiVac%2C%20the%20Bacterial%20Vaccines%20Network,%2Dincome%20countries%20(LMICs). |
| Description | Establishment of new collaborations between academia and industry and seed-funding for bacterial vaccine projects leading to the development of new vaccine products. Advocacy for bacterial vaccines nationally and internationally, e.g. with UK government, to help shape policy, particularly with reference to bacterial vaccines to combat antimicrobial resistance. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | BactiVac Pump Priming Training Awards - Round 1 - BVNCT-02 Kan Kaneko |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Training Visit to Instituto Butantan, Brazil (17.10.18 - 17.12.18) The opportunity for training in recombinant protein production and purification, at the Butantan Institute, has been immensely beneficial for awardees future research direction and potential collaborations in the future. - Contributed to your future career development Antigen production and purification will likely remain as an imperative process for vaccine production in the future. By being able to consider aspects of antigen production and formulation simultaneously, as opposed to separate processes, it opens up ideas for new formulations and optimisation of production. Being able to work on a project at the Butantan Institute enabled me to learn about the issues and difficulties associated with various stages of protein production and purification. The first-hand experience not only enables awardee to enter into the research areas of cell based protein production. - 'Added value' to on-going work you are undertaking The PdT protein, which was the focus of the training project, will be useful for the current project, as it can be incorporated into the vaccine as an additional target against pneumonia. The ultimate goal is to incorporate 2 pneumococcal antigens into a single formulation, in order to increase the coverage against different serotypes. - Has potential to create future collaboration arrangements Awardee had multiple opportunities to present my research on the formulation aspects of vaccine formulations, to the bacteriology and vaccinology groups, as well as to the wider audiences at the institute of Butantan and the University of Sao Paulo. As the Instituto Butantan research groups mainly work on the molecular aspects of vaccines, it was a good opportunity not only to show another aspect of vaccine formulations, but also to initiate discussions about how antigens could be better incorporated into formulations and potential collaborations. There was interest from the audience regarding aspects of this work, and awardee had opportunities to exchange contact details. |
| Description | BactiVac Pump Priming Training Awards - Round 1 - BVNCT-04 Achut Barakoti |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Attendance at Vaccinology for Public Health and Clinical Practice in the 21st Century, Hong Kong (16/07/2018 - 20/07/2018) This training has: Contributed to future career development: this training has provided the awardee with the basic concept in vaccinology. Some of the lectures taken were recall of awardees knowledge but some were completely new. The tutorials sessions where delegates were taught about the use of software like RStudio, FigTree to analyse data was completely new to the awardee. Awardee found this software very helpful to create graphs, weaving written reports and analysis code in one documents, etc. 'Added value' to on-going work: the course provided the brief knowledge about the mechanism of immune response after vaccination which will be very helpful for awardee to teach undergraduate students. The use of software like RStudio will help the awardee in current research data analysis. Has potential to create future collaboration arrangements: in nutshell, the course provides the basis brief concept about the vaccinology. This course is suitable for an early career researchers like the awardee who have just started their career in the vaccinology field. |
| Description | BactiVac Pump Priming Training Awards - Round 1 - BVNCT-09 Shizhong Geng |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Training visit to University of Birmingham, UK - Training in Molecular biology on bacterial vaccines (01/02/2019 - 01/05/2019) Impact will be reported after training has been completed and evaluation report submitted by the awardee. |
| Description | BactiVac Pump Priming Training Awards - Round 1 -BVNCT-01 Birendra Prasad Gupta |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Training visit to International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, South Korea (26/10/2018 - 24/12/2018) Awardee has been working on clinical trials entitled "Multicenter, observer-blinded, randomized, active controlled, safety and immunogenicity phase III study of diphtheria toxoid conjugated Vi-polysaccharide Typhoid vaccine compared to Typbar TCV® in healthy Nepalese subjects". Has been trained on following: • Participated in regular project team meetings for the preparation of the Phase III (strategy and implementation steps) in healthy Nepalese subjects • Facilitated visits and communication with personnel for site assessment and feasibility study in Nepal • Participated in SOPs training at IVI • Contributed and coordinate for documents preparation of Vi-DT conjugate vaccine Phase III trial proposal and protocol to Nepal Regulatory Authorities (Nepal Health Research council and Department of Drug Administration) • Facilitated communication with personnel at Ministry of Health and Population, Government of Nepal • Contributed to the process of finalizing Phase III trial clinical trial sites • Contributed to the Phase III start up plan, in particular GCP Training for selected clinical trial sites in Nepal which includes data capture process, conduct of Informed Consent and Assent process, protocol training and inspection preparedness |
| Description | Briefing document issued by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) which was externally reviewed by the BactiVac Director Prof Adam Cunningham |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Impact | Key points: - Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has reached a point where some infections may become untreatable. - Immunisation is one strategy to tackle AMR, by decreasing rates of infection and thereby antibiotic use and preventing the development of resistant infections. - The World Health Organization has developed a list of pathogens where AMR is of most concern and new antibiotics are needed; there is no equivalent for vaccines. - Quantifying the impact of immunisation on AMR and incorporating this into calculating the cost-effectiveness of vaccines is still an area of ongoing research. - Using immunisation to tackle AMR depends on wider use and increased uptake of existing vaccines, and increasing the development of new ones. |
| URL | https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/POST-PN-0581 |
| Description | Briefing document issued by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) which was externally reviewed by the BactiVac Directors Profs Adam Cunningham and Calman MacLennan |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Impact | Key points: Vaccines are thoroughly tested in pre-clinical and clinical trials to assess their safety and efficacy before authorisation to use and large-scale manufacturing. There are several vaccine technologies currently available, each with its own advantages and limitations. Platform-based vaccines (such as DNA-, RNA- and viral vector-based vaccines) can be quickly adapted and modified as needed. These technologies have the potential to quickly respond to some emerging pathogens (such as new viruses) but have limited use against others (such as new bacteria). Vaccine R&D has a series of challenges and it can be facilitated by advances in fundamental and veterinary research, a robust clinical trial infrastructure, innovation in clinical trials design, new pathways to accelerate the authorisation process and optimisation of manufacturing (including through deployment of more adaptable facilities). The UK Government has invested in vaccine R&D in the UK through a series of initiatives, including the UK Vaccine Network, the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre and the recently announced Animal Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre. The UK has also supported international initiatives, including the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), COVAX and the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed). Vaccine R&D, pandemic preparedness and the role of vaccines in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) were among the focuses of the 2021 G7 Summit. The 2021 Life Sciences Vision aims to sustain the UK's position in novel vaccine development and to make the UK globally competitive in life sciences. |
| URL | https://post.parliament.uk/research-briefings/post-pn-0657/ |
| Description | GCRF Networks Vaccinology Course 2018 |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The Network sponsored five scholarships to attend this course on 3 - 7 December 2018 (Bangkok, Thailand). - Dr Alice Halliday (United Kingdom) - Dr Elita Jauneikaite (United Kingdom - Mr Justin Tirimba Nyasinga (Kenya) - Mr Luis Alberto Ontiveros-Padilla (Mexico) - Mr Daniel Tapia (United States) |
| URL | http://www.intvetvaccnet.co.uk/gcrf-networks-vaccinology-course-0 |
| Description | Microbiology Society: Group discussion on the new AMR strategy consultation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Travel Bursaries - BactiVac 2nd Annual Network Meeting 2019 |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | In 2019 BactiVac awarded 20 travel bursaries, providing funding of £1,250 per award to support attendance at the Network's 2nd Annual Network Meeting in Birmingham, UK by LMIC Network members. The awards were made via a competitive application process with Network Management peer reviewing and authorising awards. 10 members from Africa, 7 members from Asia and 3 members from South America were awarded bursaries. |
| Description | Travel Bursaries - BactiVac Inaugural Annual Network Meeting 2018 |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | In 2018 BactiVac awarded 13 travel bursaries, providing funding of up to £1200 per award to support attendance at the Inaugural Annual Network Meeting by LMIC Network Members. The awards were made through a competitive process of application and Network Management peer review. 7 Members from Africa 5 Members from Asia 1 Member from South America |
| Description | Travel Bursary February 2023 - Microbiology Society focused meeting with BactiVac on 'Vaccines as Tools to Combat AMR' |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The awarding of these travel bursaries enabled 35 of our LMIC based members to attend this meeting and gain invaluable access to information, networking opportunities and key influencers in the field of bacterial vaccinology. |
| URL | https://microbiologysociety.org/event/society-events-and-meetings/vaccines-as-tools-to-combat-antimi... |
| Description | Travel Bursary November 2022 - 3rd Annual Network Meeting Kenya 8-10 Nov 22 |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The meeting provided insight into relevant research. More importantly it introduced attendees to leading researchers in this field. The interactions with them were critical for understanding the relevance of the work in this community. |
| Description | WHO Gonococcal Vaccines Preferred Product Characteristics document |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.who.int/immunization/research/ppc-tpp/Gonococcal_vaccine_PPCs_for-public-comment.pdf |
| Description | WHO Shigella Vaccines Preferred Product Characteristics document |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.who.int/immunization/research/ppc-tpp/PPC_Shigella_draft_for_review_april2020.pdf?ua=1 |
| Description | A baseline Study in Support of Clinical Evaluation of an Oral Shigella Vaccine development in Africa |
| Amount | € 2,633,965 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | RIA2018V-2308 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 10/2019 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | A rationally designed vaccine for Acinetobacter baumannii from reverse vaccinology |
| Amount | £53,812 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2022 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Airlift Biorreactor design for porin production to formulate an anti-Salmonella multivalent vaccine |
| Amount | $2,500,000 (MXN) |
| Funding ID | R-218-785-102 |
| Organisation | Mexican Social Security Insitute (IMSS) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Mexico |
| Start | |
| Description | BactiVac - enhancing networking & collaboration with LMICs to support the development of bacterial vaccines |
| Amount | £81,233 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 2210409 |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2022 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | BactiVac Annual Network Meetings (2018 & 2019) |
| Amount | £27,337 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2019 |
| End | 06/2019 |
| Description | BactiVac Phase 2 |
| Amount | £999,998 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 226684/Z/22/Z |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2023 |
| End | 03/2027 |
| Description | BactiVac supplement |
| Amount | £450,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/R005974/1 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2022 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Communicating the importance of LMIC-relevant research |
| Amount | £15,789 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | Institute for Global Innovation (IGI) - Project reference 3111 |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2020 |
| End | 07/2020 |
| Description | Desarrollo de una vacuna experimental contra las enfermedades producidas por Salmonella entérica" (Development of an experimental vaccine against the diseases caused by Salmonella enterica) |
| Amount | $7,200,000 (MXN) |
| Funding ID | Cátedras CONACYT para jóvenes investigadores e instituciones. Proyecto 677 |
| Organisation | UC MEXUS-CONACYT |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 09/2028 |
| Description | Developing a user-friendly vaccine to prevent Clostridium difficile infection |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 09/2021 |
| Description | Developing an in -vitro cell culture system for mucosal vaccine evaluation |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NC3R-MRC |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2021 |
| End | 12/2021 |
| Description | Development and application of an Advanced Glycan Production Platform |
| Amount | £447,107 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/W006146/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2022 |
| End | 01/2025 |
| Description | Development of a cross-protective, thermostable vaccine to combat bovine leptospirosis in Africa |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | JXG12190 |
| Organisation | University of Liverpool |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2021 |
| End | 07/2021 |
| Description | Development of attenuated bovine herpesvirus-4 as a safe, inexpensive, single dose vaccine to control Streptococcus suis infection in domestic pig |
| Amount | £697,784 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | I-104985 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2019 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Diseño e implementación de biorreactores airlift para la producción de porinas de Salmonella enterica que permita la formulación de una vacuna experimental multivalente contra Salmonella |
| Amount | $250,000,000 (MXN) |
| Funding ID | FIS/IMSS/PROT/EMER/1890 |
| Organisation | Mexican Social Security Insitute (IMSS) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Mexico |
| Start | 02/2020 |
| End | 01/2022 |
| Description | Dissecting cell surface protein diversity to enhance leptospiral vaccine efficacy |
| Amount | £931,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/W016133/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 06/2026 |
| Description | Enhancing critical mass in vaccinology in LMICs: Support for the Bacterial Vaccines (BactiVac) 3rd Annual Network Meeting 2020, Kilifi, Kenya |
| Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Department | Institute for Global Innovation |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2019 |
| End | 06/2020 |
| Description | Evaluating the utility of clinical scoring systems and a rapid diagnostic test for identifying Group A Streptococcus Pharyngitis in Gambian children. |
| Amount | £49,998 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/T003952/1 |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2019 |
| End | 09/2021 |
| Description | Funding to support the BactiVac Annual Network Meeting in Kilifi, Kenya |
| Amount | $100,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 08/2020 |
| Description | GMMA technology |
| Amount | £300,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/R013764/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| Description | Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) |
| Amount | £1,000,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department of Health (DH) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | GonoVac A vaccine to prevent gonorrhea and combat spread of AMR targeting LMICs |
| Amount | £36,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 0011555 |
| Organisation | Medical and Life Sciences Translational Fund |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2021 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund |
| Amount | £600,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MC_PC_1722 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2018 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | Latent rheumatic heart disease in West Africa: a pilot multi-country study |
| Amount | £151,391 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/T003952/1 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2019 |
| End | 12/2020 |
| Description | Modified Outer Membrane Vesicles (mOMV) as safe, effective, low cost, multivalent vaccines against typhoid and paratyphoid fever and invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella infections |
| Amount | £285,881 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 220501/Z/20/Z |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2021 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | NIHR UCLH BRC |
| Amount | £111,503,337 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | IS-BRC-1215-20016 |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2017 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Nanoparticles to improve vaccines protective capacity |
| Amount | $27,011,566 (MXN) |
| Funding ID | Leaders of Innovation Fellowship programme. LIF5/100096 |
| Organisation | Newton Fund |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2018 |
| End | 10/2019 |
| Description | Novel lymph node-targeting vaccine vectors |
| Amount | £78,587 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2021 |
| End | 01/2022 |
| Description | Producción industrial y evaluación de la vacuna mexicana anti-Salmonella para su uso en humanos. Primera etapa (Industrial production and evaluation of the Mexican anti-Salmonella vaccine for human use. First stage) |
| Amount | $6,440,940,000 (MXN) |
| Funding ID | FORDECYT/33SE/2020/10/22-03 |
| Organisation | National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Mexico |
| Start | 10/2020 |
| End | 09/2022 |
| Description | Projeto MiNeRVA: Microrganismos Negligenciados em Rotina de Vigilância Ativa na Saúde Maternoinfantil "Neglected microorganisms in routine surveillance of maternal and child health" |
| Amount | R$ 39,000,000 (BRL) |
| Funding ID | E-26/211.177/2019 |
| Organisation | Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Brazil |
| Start | 01/2021 |
| End | 12/2023 |
| Description | STI Vaccine Roadmap |
| Amount | $612,901 (USD) |
| Organisation | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 07/2019 |
| Description | Scaling up of Biomass production for porins vaccine development |
| Amount | $1,000,000 (MXN) |
| Organisation | Mexican Social Security Insitute (IMSS) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Mexico |
| Start | |
| Description | Supporting the development of a DIVA compatible glycoconjugate vaccine for brucellosis |
| Amount | £30,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Animal and Plant Health Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2019 |
| Description | The Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub (Vax-Hub) - sublingual immunisation |
| Amount | £45,658,946 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2022 |
| End | 08/2023 |
| Description | The Gonococcal Vaccine Project |
| Amount | £60,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2021 |
| End | 08/2022 |
| Description | The evaluation of novel GBS conjugates prepared from GBS capsular polysaccharides and GBS conserved surface proteins |
| Amount | £454,571 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | UNS113681 |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2021 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Description | The production of "Shigella plus" low-cost recombinant Shigella glycoconjugate vaccines |
| Amount | £470,113 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | WT223838/Z/21/Z |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2022 |
| End | 04/2024 |
| Description | Translational development of an outer membrane vesicle vaccine against gonorrhoea' |
| Amount | £47,134 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 0009939 |
| Organisation | Medical and Life Sciences Translational Fund |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2020 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | dmGC_0817560 NOMV' to develop a gonococcal native OMV vaccine to phase 1 clinical trial |
| Amount | $7,268,507 (USD) |
| Funding ID | 4500003783 |
| Organisation | Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 01/2021 |
| End | 08/2024 |
| Description | BactiVac Annual Network Meeting in Kenya in collaboration with KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya |
| Organisation | Kenyan Institute for Medical Research (KEMRI) |
| Department | Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | BactiVac built on links with KEMRI to engage local scientists to deliver presentations to attendees at our Network Meeting in Kenya to demonstrate the breadth of research undertaken. |
| Collaborator Contribution | KEMRI provided assistance with speakers for the BactiVac Network Meeting to ensure attendees were introduced to the outstanding research facilities and work. |
| Impact | Links with researchers were developed to take forward future research projects |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | BactiVac Network / DHSC GAMRIF partnership to address global AMR challenge |
| Organisation | Government of the UK |
| Department | Department of Health and Social Care |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | DHSC benefits from the infrastructure, governance and related processes that are already in place to deliver successful catalyst pump-priming project calls. BactiVac has an ever-growing membership base and strong vaccinology community engagement, which is supported through a range of opportunities that are available to our members (in addition to catalyst funding for pump-priming projects), which include: • Attendance at our subsidised Annual Network Meetings bringing key experts and opinion makers together to discuss recent advances, and providing a forum for our members to effectively network • Access to travel bursaries to support attendance by LMIC members at our Annual Network Meetings • Access to catalyst funding to support training opportunities and exchanges, prioritising those involving LMIC members, for the transfer of knowledge and skills in bacterial vaccinology • Access to other training opportunities, such as attending our grant writing workshops or sponsored scholarships to attend the GCRF Networks Vaccinology Course • Receiving regular newsletters and Twitter updates to provide network members with further details about opportunities available through the Network. These activities are funded through the core MRC funding and are delivered by the existing BactiVac administrative team that has supported the establishment and growth of the Network. There are additional contributions to the partnership from the BactiVac Network being hosted at the University of Birmingham, including access to: • web hosting platforms and IT expertise to support BactiVac's externally facing website • marketing and multimedia expertise to raise the Network's profile through effective Network branding and the generation of promotional materials such as short videos for use via our various comms channels • professional services teams such as research finance, HR, contracts and legal. Further benefits exist from BactiVac having access to a broad range of engaged senior experts in the field of bacterial vaccinology through its governance structure. Board members are based in institutions from the academic, industry and policy sectors, many of whom have strong basic and clinical experience within AMR and the Network also benefits from strong LMIC representation. Our board members actively contribute their time to the management and strategic oversight of the Network, without remuneration, and in doing so add a huge amount of value, resource and expertise. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The £1 million of funding awarded by DHSC will allow BactiVac to support a larger portfolio of catalyst projects of greater diversity and, potentially, complexity that address the strategic AMR-focused aims of DHSC and our own strategic remit. This enhances the potential to secure follow-on funding and deliver additional research outputs e.g. publications, which will be of benefit to the wider bacterial vaccinology community. Downstream applications that originate from BactiVac funding will receive a strategic uplift at UKRI grant panel boards. Any outputs delivered will acknowledge the source of funding and will be reported through BactiVac's website and social media channels as well as at our Annual Network Meetings. |
| Impact | Approx £50k of the funding awarded was used to support salary costs for an additional Network Administrator to the BactiVac Admin team, 5% of the Network Operations Manager salary costs and a contribution towards network running costs. These resources will be used to support the additional admin burden associated with managing the DHSC admin stream. The remaining £950k has been allocated to support funding additional catalyst projects awarded through the Network. In Round 2 the following 8 projects (total of £477,572 awarded) were funded through the DHSC funding stream: 1) BVNCP2-01: "Towards the production of "Shigella plus" a low-cost recombinant Shigella glycoconjugate vaccines", PI Professor Brendan Wren 2) BVNCP2-02: "Optimisation of novel mucosal vaccines to prevent bacterial diseases of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) ", PI Dr Rowena Hoare 3)BVNCP2-03: "Evaluation of the sublingual route of immunisation for the induction of mucosal and systemic immune responses to polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines", PI Dr Sudaxshina Murdan 4) BVNCP2-04: "Development of a novel intranasal vaccine against pneumococcal infection in children", PI Dr Qibo Zhang 5) BVNCP2-06: "Developing whole cell vaccines with tailored immunogenicity through combinatorial engineering of lipid A", PI Dr Andrew Preston 6) BVNCP2-07: "Prevalence and serotype distribution of group B Streptococcus in León, Nicaragua", PI Dr Nadja Vielot 7) BVNCP2-09: "Molecular epidemiology of Group A Streptococcus in West Africa (acronym: MEGAS)", PI Dr Annette Erhart 8) BVNCP2-10: "Advancing a native outer membrane vesicle vaccine against gonorrhoea towards clinical development", PI Professor Cal MacLennan |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BactiVac Network and Microbiology Society Focused Meeting 'Vaccines As Tools To Combat Antimicrobial Resistance' |
| Organisation | Microbiology Society |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Learned Society |
| PI Contribution | Professor Adam Cunningham (BactiVac Network Co-Director) led the Organising Commitee for this meeting. The Committee sourced the venue for the meeting; identified speakers and sponsors for this event; created a scientific two-day programme; reviewed and allocated abstracts; supported the curation of a collection related to the scientific theme of the meeting in one of the Society's journals; promoted the meeting with the Network community and relevant networks. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Society set and managed the budget for all financial transactions; managed abstract submission, outcomes and communication; promoted the event through various media channels; provided all on site logistics (supported by admin staff from BactiVac Network) |
| Impact | TBC - outcomes i.e. link to abstract book to be added PLUS any other relevant information |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | JPIAMR - BactiVac Network Webinar - June 2022 |
| Organisation | JPIAMR Virtual Research Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | BactiVac Network identified speakers for this webinar. During this webinar, insights and perspectives were shared regarding the opportunities and gaps in our understanding of how to use vaccination as a strategy to tackle AMR. The event was Chaired by Professor Calman MacLennan (Director of the Bactivac Network) and consisted of a series of four short talks from Professor Kathleen Neuzil, Professor Adam Cunningham (Co-Director of the Bactivac Network), Dr. Annaliesa Anderson, and Professor Gordon Dougan. The talks were followed by a brief panel discussion involving Professor Bill Hausdorff, Professor Birgitta Henriques Normark, Dr. Isabel Frost, and Dr. Padmini Srikantiah. |
| Collaborator Contribution | JPIAMR was leading on the following activities - liaising with webinar speakers, registering delegates for the event, providing an online platform for the event; creating event page for the webinar and finalising the report after the webinar. |
| Impact | The BactiVac Network, together with JPIAMR and UK Medical Research Council (MRC), contributed to the report which provides an overview of the consultation regarding the role of vaccination as a tool to tackle the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance, organised by the Coordination and Support Action (CSA) DESIGN One Health AntiMicrobial Resistance (DESIGN OH AMR). The report is available online - https://www.jpiamr.eu/app/uploads/2022/09/Vaccination-as-a-strategy-to-combat-antimicrobial-resistance_WS-report-2022.pdf Recording of the webinar held on 17 June 2022 is available online - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oEcmX4cy2Q&t=1s |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Memorandum of Understanding with TRANSVAC/EVI |
| Organisation | European Vaccine Initiative (EVI) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | In order to leverage results, EVI and BACTIVAC intend to collaborate in different areas including (but not limited to): • Exchange of information on organisational and programmatic matters • Exchange of information on activities foreseen within their remit • Coordinating and aligning of activities of potential mutual interest • Exchange and discussion of results or other information where permitted by existing confidentiality agreements. It is anticipated that the collaboration could occur through any of the following: 1. Co-organisation of conferences, training courses and other events and activities 2. Joint programming, separate funding 3. Joint programming, pooled funding 4. Any other means deemed useful by both parties Thus far, BactiVac has: Included a profile on TRANSVAC/EVI in the November 2021 newsletter Advertised TRANSVAC/EVI opportunities for training to the Network via mailshot. |
| Collaborator Contribution | TRANSVAC have offered to reciprocate when and where possible/necessary. TRANSVAC have offered letters of support to future funders for BactiVac. |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Oxford/Massachusetts Gonococcal Vaccine collaboration |
| Organisation | University of Massachusetts |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Design and development of innovating vaccines using native outer membrane vesicles against gonococcus |
| Collaborator Contribution | Assessment of preclinical efficacy of gonococcal vaccine candidate. Provided preclinical proof of concept facilitating successful application for substantive funding from CARB-X. |
| Impact | Substantive grant funding from CARB-X |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Title | Gonococcal candidate vaccine dmGC_0817560 NOMV |
| Description | The medical product is an innovative native outer membrane vesicle vaccine against gonorrhoea and antimicrobial resistance. It completed preclinical proof of concept in 2019, accelerating clearance of gonococcus from the mouse gonococcal infection model. On the basis of this work, substantive funding was secured from CARB-X which will take the vaccine through a stage-gated pathway to a phase 1 clinical trial. It is currently in Lead Optimisation Stage. It has previously received funding from a Wellcome Pathfinder Award and BactiVac Catalyst Funding Award |
| Type | Therapeutic Intervention - Vaccines |
| Current Stage Of Development | Refinement. Non-clinical |
| Year Development Stage Completed | 2021 |
| Development Status | Under active development/distribution |
| Impact | The vaccine is one of a leading group of new candidates against gonorrhoea |
| Title | BactiVac Network Members' Directory |
| Description | Contains members' profiles in order to identify potential collaborators. Network members can access full details of other members (via login) and can search the Directory by: - Name - Institution - Country - Research expertise |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Members' Directory helps to encourage cross-collaboration between academic and industrial partners in developed and developing nations and to provide access to potential collaborators from multiple disciplines. |
| URL | https://bactivac.bham.ac.uk/ |
| Company Name | ArkVax |
| Description | Using protein glycan coupling technology to produce low-cost glycoconjugate vaccines for animals |
| Year Established | 2022 |
| Impact | Producing low cost pig and poultry vaccines |
| Description | AMRelay 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | AMRelay 2021 was a series of 96 consecutive contributions by global stakeholders involved in curbing Antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The 24 hour event took place on 24 November 2021. AMRelay was an initiative by the AMR Insights Ambassador Network to be realised at the very last day of the World Antimicrobials Awareness Week 2021 (18-24 November). The objectives of AMRelay were: to increase awareness on AMR in all countries; to profile global stakeholders involved in curbing AMR; to inspire and encourage organisations to further join forces to combat AMR. BactiVac's contribution was a 15 minute pre-recorded presentation discussing the need for a bacterial vaccinology network; the role of vaccinology in curbing AMR; and how the BactiVac Network has contributed to this aim. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.amr-insights.eu/amrelay-2021/ |
| Description | African Academy of Sciences - BactiVac Introductory Webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 80 registrants were introduced to the BactiVac Network in a one hour total presentation and discussion with Prof. Cal MacLennan. This was facilitated by the African Academy of Sciences - a not-for-profit pan-African organisation aiming to improve lives on the African continent through science. The presentation delivered by Prof. MacLennan sparked discussions and questions in a Q&A session, and ultimately led to further applications to become a member of the BactiVac Network. We continue to work with the AAS, and hope to work together on projects in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BactiVac 2nd Annual Network Meeting 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We were delighted to welcome 158 of our members to the BactiVac 2nd Annual Network Meeting in Birmingham, UK, with representation from 25 countries - thus ensuring it was certainly a global affair. The two-day meeting held in March 2019 brought together scientists, academics, industrial partners and policy makers from around the world, all with the shared vision to develop and implement bacterial vaccines to tackle global challenges. The programme offered talks from internationally renowned speakers, covering issues such as the problem of chronic underfunding of global health bacterial vaccine research & development and how traditional expensive vaccine development can be overcome with a highlight on the value of vaccines and impact on human life expectancy and how new technologies are enabling us to overcome challenges. Attendees were treated to an eye-opening presentation on the challenges that face SMEs in vaccine development. Over the two days, members were able to network and meet many new potential collaborators and friends. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | BactiVac Director Prof MacLennan interviewed for an article in Financial Times |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac Director's contribution to a piece on 'Vaccines hold potential to curb antibiotic resistance' published on 26 May 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.ft.com/content/1bbbdaf5-ea2a-44f4-8640-e24b32d5cfb1?shareType=nongift |
| Description | BactiVac First Annual Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 110 members of the recently formed BactiVac Bacterial Vaccinology Network met for a two-day first annual meeting at the University of Birmingham. This included a mix of scientific and programmatic presentations, discussion group sessions, speed-dating and meeting dinner, all designed to establish the network and build interactions between the network's membership with the objective of advancing bacterial vaccines. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | BactiVac Grant Writing Workshop 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac Grant Writing Workshop for early career researchers was held on Tuesday 19 March 2019. The Workshop was delivered by experienced and enthusiastic facilitators (Dr Laura Knogler and Dr Sandy Williams) from Scriptoria. 17 attendees representing 12 different countries had the benefit of taking part in this Workshop as BactiVac Network funded their place following a competitive application process. The programme focused on developing scientific writing skills to produce high quality grant proposals. Attendees were thoroughly engaged throughout this interactive Workshop and the feedback provided clearly demonstrates that the day was enriched with the practical exercises and study materials, all of which left participants well prepared to apply the tools learnt during the Workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/immunology-immunotherapy/research/bactivac/BactiVac-G... |
| Description | BactiVac Introductory Webinar for China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | 76 individuals who had been identified as having an interest in bacterial vaccinology were invited by Dr Xin Tong (Director Of Research Development at Walvax Biotechnology Co.) and Anna Du (BMGF) to attend a webinar delivered via Zoom to increase the profile of the BactiVac Network in China. This is to counterbalance the fact that some of our materials would not be accessible to our potential audience in China. Following on from this, we hope to receive more membership applications from those in the vaccinology and related fields in China. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BactiVac Introductory webinar for Latin America May 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Over 60 delegates from 17 countries joined the webinar which provided an overview of the Network (presented by BactiVac Co-Director Prof Adam Cunningham) and highlighted the benefits and opportunities available to our members. Delegates also heard from members Dr Tatiana Pinto and Prof Constantino López-Macías, who have received funding from BactiVac, about their research projects and how this has supported their personal research careers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BactiVac Network Advisory Board |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The BactiVac Network Advisory Board meets once a year but its members are a source of contact & advice for the Network Directors at all times in matters relating to the delivery of the Network activities. The members of the Advisory Board consist of experts in the field of vaccinology, with representation being strengthened during the course of 2019 with the addition of a new member from Asia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| Description | BactiVac Network Advisory Board |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The BactiVac Network Advisory Board consists of experts in the field of vaccinology who have been brought together to offer overarching guidance on the direction and delivery of the Network objectives. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | BactiVac Network LinkedIn Account |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Analytics - Last 30 day activity 166 Search appearances (last 7 days) - 4% decrease 45 Unique visitors - 542.9% increase 66 New followers - 1000% increase 2.1k Post impressions - 411.4% increase 7 Custom button clicks 0 New leads |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| URL | https://www.linkedin.com/company/bactivac/ |
| Description | BactiVac Network Management Oversight Board |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The BactiVac Network has continued to broaden and strengthen the representation on its Management Oversight Board during 2019. The Board meets on a quarterly basis to discuss issues relating to the Network management. Members of the Board also conduct the peer review of pump-priming project funding applications made to the Network, which are then confirmed at a Board meeting. The Board discuss and decide on issues relating to the delivery of outputs for the Network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| Description | BactiVac Network Management Oversight Board |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The BactiVac Network has brought together experts from various sectors to form its Management Oversight Board. This Board meets on a quarterly basis to discuss issues relating to the Network management and are involved in the peer review and issuing of pump priming awards and all funding requests made to the Network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019 |
| Description | BactiVac Network Members' Directory |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Network Members' Directory was launched on 6 February 2019 and had 59,228 page views since then. Members' Directory helps to encourage cross-collaboration between academic and industrial partners in developed and developing nations and to provide access to potential collaborators from multiple disciplines. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | https://bactivac.bham.ac.uk/ |
| Description | BactiVac Network Membership |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In March 2019 BactiVac Network had 671 members from across 63 countries. 40% of our members were based in LMICs and the proportion of our industrial membership was 12%. In March 2021 BactiVac Network has 1,117 members from across 75 countries. 48% of our members are based in LMICs, 41% are female and the proportion of our industrial membership is 13%. In March 2022 BactiVac Network has 1,248 members from across 76 countries. 48% of our members are based in LMICs, 42% are female and the proportion of our industrial membership is 13%. In February 2023 BactiVac Network has 1,428 members from across 78 countries. 49% of our members are based in LMICs, 42% are female and the proportion of our industrial membership is 13%. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | https://bactivac.bham.ac.uk/ |
| Description | BactiVac Network Twitter Account |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | As per 6 March 2019 we had 991 followers on Twitter. Number of followers have tripled since the launch of the Network in August 2017. As per 25 February 2021 we have 1,501 followers on Twitter. Number of followers have been increasing regularly since the launch of the Network in August 2017. As per 7 March 2022 we have 1,666 followers on Twitter. Number of followers have been increasing regularly since the launch of the Network in August 2017. As per 10 March 2023 we have 1,947 followers on Twitter. Number of followers have been increasing regularly since the launch of the Network in August 2017. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/BactiVac |
| Description | BactiVac Network eNewsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Open rate for the newsletters is presented below: January 2018 Issue #1 - newsletter was sent to 239 Network members and open rate was 57.7%; May 2018 Issue #2 - newsletter was sent to 375 Network members and open rate was 40.5%; September 2018 Issue #3 - newsletter was sent to 490 Network members and open rate was 41.8%; December 2018 Issue #4 - newsletter was sent to 611 Network members and open rate was 37.6%; April 2019 Issue #5 - newsletter was sent out to 726 Network members and open rate was 42.4% June 2019 Issue #6 - newsletter was sent to 822 Network members and open rate was 35.5%; September 2019 Issue #7 - newsletter was sent to 859 Network members and open rate was 32.1%; March 2020 Issue #8 - newsletter was sent to 995 members and open rate was 30.7%; April 2020 Issue #9 - newsletter was sent to 997 members and open rate was 44.7%; May 2020 Issue #10 - newsletter was sent to 1,020 and open rate was 23.8%; August 2020 Issue #11 - newsletter was sent to 1,024 members and open rate was 30.3%; November 2020 Issue #12 - newsletter was sent to 1,051 members and open rate was 41.9%; February 2021 Issue #13 - newsletter was sent to 1,069 members and open rate was 39.3%; April 2021 Issue #14 - newsletter was sent to 1,133 members and open rate was 27.8%; July 2021 Issue #15 - newsletter was sent to 1,167 members and open rate was 23.0% November 2021 Issue#16 - newsletter was sent to 1,181 members and open rate was 27.9% March 2022 Issue#17 - newsletter was sent to 1,217 members and open rate was 29.2% June 2022 Issue#18 - newsletter was sent to1250 members and open rate was 27.6% November 2022 Issue #19 - newsletter was sent to 1313 members and open rate was 33.2% |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/immunology-immunotherapy/research/bactivac/newsletter... |
| Description | BactiVac Network website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Between 1 March 2018 and 1 March 2019 Network website had 24,101 page views (off campus traffic) and Avg. Time on Page was 1 min 32 sec. Between 1 March 2019 and 1 March 2020 Network website had 25,324 page views (off campus traffic) and Avg. Time on Page was 1 min 25 sec. Between 1 March 2020 and 17 February 2021 Network website had 21,499 page views (off campus traffic) and Avg. Time on Page was 1 min 23 sec. Between 17 February 2021 and 6 March 2022 Network website had 21,233 page views (off campus traffic) and Avg. Time on Page was 1 min 35 sec. Between 1 March 2022 and 9 March 2023 Network website had 18,769 page views (off campus traffic) and Avg. Time on Page was 1 min 29 sec. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/immunology-immunotherapy/research/bactivac/index.aspx |
| Description | BactiVac Online Advocacy and Communications Course 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac Online Advocacy and Communications Course for BactiVac members was delivered online on 23 & 25 November 2021. This online training course was delivered by an experienced and enthusiastic facilitator Dr Jim Weale from Scriptoria (an award-winning company in the UK, specialising in knowledge and data management, communications and engagement, monitoring and learning, and training delivery). 5 places were awarded following a competitive application process. The participants represented 4 different countries, of which 2 were LMIC. The programme focused on how to effectively formulate a message, and ensure it reached the appropriate policy makers. Attendees were thoroughly engaged throughout this interactive online course and the feedback provided clearly demonstrated that the course was enriched with the practical exercises and study materials, all of which left participants well prepared to apply the tools learnt during the course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/bactivac-training |
| Description | BactiVac Online Communicating to Non-Specialists Course 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac Online Communicating to Non-Specialists Course for BactiVac members was delivered online on 16 & 18 November 2021. This online training course was delivered by an experienced and enthusiastic facilitator Dr Nick Burger from Scriptoria (an award-winning company in the UK, specialising in knowledge and data management, communications and engagement, monitoring and learning, and training delivery). 14 places were awarded following a competitive application process. The participants represented 11 different countries, 8 of which were LMIC. The programme took participants through how to initially identify an audience, all the way through to building a successful communications campaign. Attendees were thoroughly engaged throughout this interactive online course and the feedback provided clearly demonstrated that the course was enriched with the practical exercises and study materials, all of which left participants well prepared to apply the tools learnt during the course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/bactivac-training |
| Description | BactiVac Online Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 217 scientists, industry figures and policy-makers from 30 countries around the world gathered online to share expertise at the BactiVac Virtual Network Conference 2021, hosted from the Senate Chamber at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Held on the 27 and 28 April 2021, there were talks on a wide range of topics, from up-to-date insights on tackling anti-microbial resistance in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) to the role of veterinary vaccines and a "One Health" perspective on bacterial vaccinology, the latest news on global vaccine development, engagement with industry and the role of regulators. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/immunology-immunotherapy/research/bactivac/bactivac-online-vir... |
| Description | BactiVac Online Grant Writing Course 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac Online Grant Writing Course for BactiVac members was delivered online: Group 1 was held on 24 & 26 November 2020 and Group 2 was held on 8 & 10 December 2020. This online training course was delivered by an experienced and enthusiastic facilitator Dr Laura Knogler from Scriptoria (an award-winning company in the UK, specialising in knowledge and data management, communications and engagement, monitoring and learning, and training delivery. 40 places were awarded (31 members were early career researchers; 35 memberswere from LMIC countries). 38 members representing 19 different countries had the benefit of attending this course in Nov and Dec 2020 as BactiVac Network funded their place following a competitive application process. The programme focused on developing scientific writing skills to produce high quality grant proposals. Online Grant Writing Course also included exercises and discussions using grant proposals sourced from Network members and participants found it extremely useful. Attendees were thoroughly engaged throughout this interactive online course and the feedback provided clearly demonstrates that the course was enriched with the practical exercises and study materials, all of which left participants well prepared to apply the tools learnt during the course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/immunology-immunotherapy/research/bactivac/bactivac-online-tra... |
| Description | BactiVac Online Project Management Course 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac Online Project Management Course for BactiVac members was delivered online on 1 & 3 December 2020. This online training course was delivered by an experienced and enthusiastic facilitator Dr Laura Knogler from Scriptoria (an award-winning company in the UK, specialising in knowledge and data management, communications and engagement, monitoring and learning, and training delivery). 20 places were awarded following a competitive application process. 20 members representing 13 different countries (10 members represented LMIC countries) attended the course in December 2020. The programme focused on all stages of the project cycle, from bid writing through implementation to programme closure. Attendees were thoroughly engaged throughout this interactive online course and the feedback provided clearly demonstrated that the course was enriched with the practical exercises and study materials, all of which left participants well prepared to apply the tools learnt during the course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/immunology-immunotherapy/research/bactivac/bactivac-online-tra... |
| Description | BactiVac Operational Management Meetings |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The Operational Management Group of the BactiVac Network meets on a monthly basis to discuss operational issues relating to the delivery of the Network projects and output. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2020,2021 |
| Description | BactiVac Operational Management Meetings |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The Operational Management Group of the BactiVac Network meets on a monthly basis to discuss operational issues relating to the delivery of the Network projects and outputs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| Description | DHSC's GAMRIF Delivery Partners' Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | To develop a cross-understanding of the projects within the GAMRIF portfolio and to discuss opportunities to share lessons and ways to add value. BactiVac delivered a short 7 minute Pechakucha presentation. Presentations were followed by a Q&A session which resulted in a better understanding of what each Delivery Partner is aiming to achieve and to identify potential areas of overlap/collaboration across partners |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Events attended by the BactiVac Network Directors and Management Oversight Board Members |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac has been represented at a number of high profile events, including: - Hosting a visit from UK International Development Minister, Alistair Burt, at the University of Birmingham on 22 February 2018 who found out more about BactiVac and what the Network is aiming to achieve. Adam Cunningham, spoke to Alistair Burt during the visit about the importance of working in partnership with LMICs and across the academia/industry divide to accelerate the development of bacterial vaccines to prevent disease and save lives. Visit was reported through UoB/BactiVac twitter and short YouTube video created by Burt's media team currently has over 2,100 views (see https://twitter.com/DFID_UK/status/966749463380344832) - Poster presentations at key conferences such as the BSI Congress, Microbiology Society Annual Meeting - Network Management Oversight Board members/Network Directors invited to present on BactiVac to a total of over 2,000 people at key stakeholder meetings including WHO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Vaccines for Enteric Diseases, NIBSC, The Academy of Medical Sciences, The Developing Countries Vaccine Manufactures Network (DCVMN), Houses of Parliament (Westminster) and other high profile academic and industrial organisations. After each of these presentations, our metrics demonstrate a spike in activity on our website and in membership applications. - Events where BactiVac Network Directors presented/re-presented BactiVac in 2022 were: Shigella-CHIM Wellcome Meeting (May 2022, Kenya); Masters in Vaccinology and Drug Development (May 2022, online); IBA Course on Vaccinology (October 2022, Online); International Pathogenic Neisseria Conference (IPNC) (October 2022, South Africa); Department of Microbiology in M.G.R College (October 2022, Online). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2022 |
| Description | Industry Sandpit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac held an Industry Sandpit in order to inform future network sustainability strategies, in which BactiVac could shift towards increasing industry engagement. The panel assembled were all BactiVac members that were also in the vaccine-production industry. Here, we asked directly what they believe were industry's key concerns, aims, and desires in relation to what BactiVac could provide. Outcome: a new sustainability strategy; an 'Industry Survey', where we canvassed members for opinions on industry-focused webinars; the planning of future industry-focused webinar events, and changes to our website to allow for industry profiles. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Innovate UK and UK Vaccine Network Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac, was invited by DHSC's GAMRIF programme as an enabling/support organisation, to take part in a panel discussion on 'Effective Collaboration' at a one-day meeting on vaccine development, hosted by the UK Vaccine Network and Innovate UK, on Thu 13 Feb 2020 in London. The event was attended by a range or organisations and speakers including Chris Whitty (the Chief Medical Officer for England, CMO, Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government and Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the Department of Health and Social Care), Presentations, panel discussions and networking at the event resulted in better awareness across invited organisations and helped to raise the profile of BactiVac. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | International Day of Immunology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The International Day of Immunology is dedicated to increasing global awareness of the importance of immunology in the fight against infection, autoimmunity and cancer. The IUIS and EFIS are working together to encourage national societies to participate in the Day of Immunology and to promote the benefits of immunology research. BactiVac collaborated with the British Society for Immunology (BSI) to support a social media campaign celebrating International Day of Immunology. This included posting videos and twitter cards on Twitter and tagging the BSI and other relevant organisations (such as DHSC/GANRIF, MRC, University of Birmingham) to maximise reach and impact, highlighting the importance of immunology research as well as raising the profile of Bacvtivac. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | International Day of Women and Girls in Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A significant gender gap has persisted throughout the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines all over the world. Even though women have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in higher education, they are still under-represented in these fields. Gender equality has always been a core issue for the United Nations. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls will make a crucial contribution not only to economic development of the world, but to progress across all the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well. On 14 March 2011, the Commission on the Status of Women adopted a report at its fifty-fifth session, with agreed conclusions on access and participation of women and girls in education, training and science and technology, and for the promotion of women's equal access to full employment and decent work. On 20 December 2013, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on science, technology and innovation for development, in which it recognized that full and equal access to and participation in science, technology and innovation for women and girls of all ages is imperative for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. On 22 December 2015, the General Assembly adopted a resolution to establish an annual International Day to recognize the critical role women and girls play in science and technology communities. In welcoming the efforts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and other relevant organizations that support and promote the access of women and girls and their participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, training and research activities at all levels decided to proclaim 11 February of each year the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. BactiVac collaborated with DHSC/GAMRIF to support a social media campaign celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This included posting videos and twitter cards on Twitter and tagging relevant organisations (such as BSI, DHSC/GANRIF, MRC, University of Birmingham) to maximise reach and impact and raising the profile of Bacvtivac. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| Description | International Women's Day 2023 social media campaign - video & photo |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview-style video created of BactiVac members talking about the importance of the International Women's Day, and what it means to them. The interviewees included both women and men, and come from diverse geographical locations and sectors. The most important intended outcome was to show the network's inclusivity and support for the cause. Additionally, a photograph was taken of network members embracing themselves to show support to the cause. The video and photograph were posted on both Twitter and LinkedIn channels and generated over 1,700 views as of 10 March 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/BactiVac/status/1633431937275645953 |
| Description | Oral presentation at World Vaccine Congress Barcelona 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on gonococcal vaccine development at the World Vaccine Congress |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.terrapinn.com/conference/world-vaccine-congress-europe/Conference.stm |
| Description | Parliamentary Links Day 2019: Science and the New Frontiers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Over 100 people attended Parliamentary Links Day 2019, this year's theme being Science and the New Frontiers. BactiVac Co-Director Adam Cunningham met Stephen Metcalfe MP, and they discussed the use of Vaccines as a way of combatting Antimicrobial Resistance. Doug Brown from the British Society of Immunology agreed to set up a meeting with Adam, Stephen Metcalfe MP, and himself to discuss potential collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.rsb.org.uk/news/14-news/2182-parliamentary-links-day-2019-science-minister-says-uk-shoul... |
| Description | The BactiVac Network Podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Network has launched its podcast series in March 2020. Five episodes have been made available to international audience who are working to develop vaccines against bacterial infections relevant to low and middle-income countries (LMICs): The BactiVac Network Podcast - Episode 1 - What Is BactiVac? The BactiVac Network Podcast - Episode 2 - Shigella The BactiVac Network Podcast - Episode 3 - How can we accelerate vaccine introduction and use? The BactiVac Network Podcast - Episode 4 - The importance of LMIC involvement in immunology and vaccine research The BactiVac Network Podcast - Episode 5 - Why Are Bacterial Vaccines Needed? (https://soundcloud.com/bactivac/why-are-bacterial-vaccines-needed/s-83s2u0S6VQI) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://open.spotify.com/show/471lzBrvwvmU3peDTWh99e?si=X7ZBfSMxR3G5t5N4MfDpSg&nd=1 |
| Description | University of Birmingham Press Release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Up to £1m funding awarded to develop bacterial vaccines in global fight against antimicrobial resistance The Government has awarded the University of Birmingham-hosted BactiVac Network up to £1 million funding to accelerate the development of bacterial vaccines in a bid to prevent infections occurring as part of the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The award has been made by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)'s Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) and comes after Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock this month announced the UK's 20-year vision and five-year (2019-2024) AMR national action plan. Supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Networks in Vaccines Research & Development, which is co-funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), BactiVac will use this additional funding to accelerate the development and uptake of vaccines against bacterial infections in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). BactiVac, which delivers a large portfolio of catalyst projects by bringing together academic and industry partners from the UK and other high-income countries and LMICs, targets bacterial diseases in both humans and animals that can lead to the emergence and spread of AMR and pose a significant threat to human health. BactiVac is hosted at the University of Birmingham, which has one of the biggest teams of microbiologists in the European Union devoted to tackling AMR through pioneering research to better understand how bacteria cause infection, how antibiotics work, the causes of resistance, prevention of spread of resistant bacteria and finding new ways to treat infections. University of Birmingham Professor Cal MacLennan, Director of BactiVac, said: "Infections account for over 20 per cent of global deaths and are particularly problematic in low and middle-income countries. "Bacterial infections contribute significantly to this burden - killing approximately five million people annually. "The crisis of AMR means our options for controlling bacterial infections are narrowing, and it is important that we address this urgent problem. "By eliminating the selective pressure that antimicrobials apply on bacteria, vaccines can dramatically reduce the opportunity for AMR to develop, and therefore reduce antimicrobial use. "This additional DHSC support will allow us to address gaps within our vaccine portfolio and develop new and better vaccines that directly address the issue of AMR." University of Birmingham Professor Adam Cunningham, Co-Director of BactiVac, added: "Vaccines save millions of lives each year and are a cost-effective approach to prevent infectious diseases and their devastating sequelae. "They can be of particular value in the fight against AMR because they prevent infections from occurring in the first place. This means that disease does not develop, or develops to a lesser degree, than would do otherwise. "In addition, vaccines can protect against disease where AMR is widespread, such as typhoid fever, and so prevent disease from bacteria that are already resistant to treatment. "Nevertheless, there are many bacterial infections in both humans and animals for which we lack any licensed vaccine. Conversely, if a vaccine exists, many do not work optimally, such as in the very young or old, or those with significant co-morbidities. "Addressing the need for accelerating vaccines against low to middle-income countries-relevant bacterial infections by, for example developing novel approaches, enhancing their efficacy and uptake, is an important way to help reduce the burden of AMR. "This award will help us support vaccine development against infections caused by bacteria where AMR is already established and is developing." Professor Dame Sally Davies, England's Chief Medical Officer, said: "Increasing investment in vaccines research and development for humans and animals is a core part of the UK Government's 20-year vision and five-year national action plan for AMR announced last week. "This additional funding to BactiVac complements existing work led by the UK, particularly focusing on infections and AMR in low and middle income countries, where the burden is greatest." Dr Martin Broadstock, Programme Manager for Immunology at MRC, said: "Our goal through the MRC/BBSRC networks is to accelerate vaccine research and development, and the additional DHSC investment will help achieve this by funding collaborative projects that will aim to develop new and better vaccines against bacterial pathogens." The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is the UK government department, which is responsible for helping people to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. The partnership with BactiVac is part of DHSC's Global Antimicrobial Innovation Fund (GAMRIF). GAMRIF was established to provide seed funding for innovative research and development, specifically in neglected and underinvested areas, to address the threat of AMR. GAMRIF is a £50m UK aid investment, which means all projects funded must support research primarily and directly for the benefit of people in LMICs. The Fund takes a 'One Health' approach, seeking to invest in potential solutions to reduce the threat of AMR in humans, animals, fish and the environment. The Fund seeks to leverage additional global funding through interaction with international government bodies, public-private partnerships, product development partnerships, global funding mechanisms and global fora. Ends |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2019/01/bacterial-vaccine-infection-antimicrobial-resistanc... |
| Description | University of Birmingham Press Release - Wellcome further funding announcement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | £1 million award for BactiVac Network to continue supporting development of bacterial vaccines. Bacterial infections kill over 7 million people each year and the development of new and better vaccines will reduce this devastating burden of disease. Vaccines could help to reduce the need for antibiotic treatments for bacterial diseases BactiVac, the Bacterial Vaccines Network, has secured £1 million of funding fromWellcome to accelerate the development of bacterial vaccines and combat the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Bacterial infections kill over 7 million people each year and the development of new and better vaccines will reduce this devastating burden of disease. The BactiVac Network, hosted at the University of Birmingham, was established in 2017 under the direction of Professors Calman MacLennan and Adam Cunningham. With over 1,400 members from 78 countries, BactiVac brings together academia, industry, policymakers, and funders, 49% of whom are from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), to advance the development of vaccine against bacterial pathogens of global importance. The funding awarded by Wellcome will enhance the impact of the BactiVac Network over the next four years. From the start, BactiVac has been a leading advocate for bacterial vaccinology, enabled collaborations in vaccine development through research project funding, delivered key training for members, supported training exchanges, and hosted Annual Network Meetings. With a focus on LMICs, BactiVac also aims to address bottlenecks and capacity building among early career researchers in these countries. Being the key Network for advocating the acceleration of vaccines that target bacterial pathogens, the BactiVac Network will continue to build collaborations and networking between academic, policy and industry partners towards this goal. Professor Calman MacLennan, BactiVac Director said: "We're delighted that Wellcome will be partnering with us for Phase 2 of BactiVac. With Wellcome's support, we will be able to build on what has been achieved over the first five years of the Network, continue to promote the development of bacterial vaccines and champion their importance in overcoming the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance." we will .... continue to promote the development of bacterial vaccines and champion their importance in overcoming the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance Professor Calman MacLennan Professor Adam Cunningham, BactiVac Co-Director said: "We are grateful to Wellcome for their generous support and for sharing BactiVac's vision that bacterial vaccines have a critical role to play in reducing bacterial infections and the threat of AMR. In this exciting new phase, BactiVac will continue to support its membership to develop new vaccines, particularly those that are relevant to LMICs." BactiVac have played a leading role in bringing together world experts from across academia, industry, and policy to advocate for bacterial vaccinology Professor Gordon Dougan Professor Adam Cunningham, BactiVac Co-Director said: "We are grateful to Wellcome for their generous support and for sharing BactiVac's vision that bacterial vaccines have a critical role to play in reducing bacterial infections and the threat of AMR. In this exciting new phase, BactiVac will continue to support its membership to develop new vaccines, particularly those that are relevant to LMICs." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2023/1-million-award-for-bactivac-network-to-continue-supporting-d... |
| Description | World Antimicrobial Awareness Week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac coordinated with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), The Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), and other University of Birmingham media teams (College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy) to support a social media campaign celebrating World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (18 - 24 November 2022), a campaign led by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This included posting images and videos on Twitter about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), information about the BactiVac Network, how BactiVac helps to tackle AMR and information about events led and attended by BactiVac relevant to AMR. BactiVac also took part in a Global Twitter Relay alongside DHSC, US CDC, ECDC and other partners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/search?q=%23WAAW%20(from%3ABactiVac)&src=typed_query |
| Description | World Immunisation week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BactiVac collaborated with the British Society for Immunology (BSI) to support a social media campaign celebrating World Immunisation Week (24 - 30 April 2020). This included posting videos and twitter cards on Twitter and tagging the BSI and other relevant organisations (such as DHSC/GANRIF, MRC, University of Birmingham) to maximise reach and impact, highlighting the importance of immunisation as well as raising the profile of Bacvtivac. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | World Science Day for Peace and Development |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Celebrated every 10 November, World Science Day for Peace and Development highlights the important role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues. It also underlines the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives. By linking science more closely with society, World Science Day for Peace and Development aims to ensure that citizens are kept informed of developments in science. It also underscores the role scientists play in broadening our understanding of the remarkable, fragile planet we call home and in making our societies more sustainable. BactiVac collaborated with DHSC/GAMRIF to support a social media campaign celebrating World Science Day for Peace and Development . This included posting videos and twitter cards on Twitter and tagging relevant organisations (such as BSI, DHSC/GANRIF, MRC, University of Birmingham) to maximise reach and impact and raising the profile of Bacvtivac. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |