Opportunities and challenges in vaccine delivery

This report is a distillation of the workshop ‘Opportunities and Challenges in Vaccine Delivery’, organised by EUFEPS/FIP and co-sponsored by AAPS and CRS, in Archamps, France, September 2008. The aim of this workshop was to bridge knowledge gaps between the different disciplines involved in the delivery of vaccines. Here, key challenges include target identification, mapping the needs and target population, the development and harmonisation of predictive read-out systems and surrogate markers for protection, and improving antigen immunogenicity, delivery and stability. The workshop underlined the need and possibilities of a multidisciplinary approach to meet these challenges. This involves increasing our understanding of immunological mechanisms, the development of advanced delivery systems and adjuvant technologies, and insight into the regulatory guidelines and target population. Based upon this knowledge, future vaccinology can increasingly focus on rational design of antigens, adjuvants and delivery systems, which will lead to new and improved vaccines.