Emanuele Montomoli, CSO of VisMederi and Professor of Public Health at the University of Siena, will take part as a member of the Scientific Committee at EDUFLUVAC Annual Meeting 2016 to be held in Zurich on 20 and 21 October 2016.
EDUFLUVAC is a four-year cooperation project funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI), founded in November 2016 by the joint commitment of leading European experts in the field of vaccines.
The purpose of this project is to develop a universal flu vaccine, capable of providing coverage and longer lasting immunity against most strains of influenza virus. The limit of current influenza vaccines is actually that of offering a limited protection against new strains because of the continuous mutations of the virus, consequently assuming the need to subject the population to administrations on annual basis.
The revolutionary concept of a vaccine capable of stimulating an immune response not only against seasonal virus variants but also to type A flu, which is at the origins of numerous pandemics, is based on modern technology VLPs (Virus-Like Particles) that are non-infectious because they do not contain any viral genetic material.
Reaching this significant milestone in the research would mean reducing the load of flu epidemics on an annual basis thus lowering the costs of vaccine production and facilitating its spread on a global scale.
Montomoli, together with the other members of ISAC (Independent Scientific Advisory Committee) will determine the scientific and technical direction of the project to identify future directions, possible pitfalls as well as the most innovative technologies to be applied.
http://www.edufluvac.eu/
