Helmholtz Munich Joins European Vaccines Hub for Pandemic Readiness
The European Commission has launched the European Vaccines Hub (EVH) for Pandemic Readiness, a new initiative aiming to accelerate the development of vaccines for future public health emergencies. Helmholtz Munich contributes its virology and global health expertise to support the consortium’s research and preparedness efforts. The project is funded under the EU4Health programme with an EU contribution of over €100 million.
Helmholtz Munich joins the newly established EVH consortium as an affiliated entity, contributing expertise in virology, epidemiology, and translational infection research. The consortium unites leading research institutions and vaccine manufacturers from across Europe to enhance pandemic preparedness and vaccine development capacities.
As part of the EVH, Helmholtz Munich contributes its expertise through the Institute of Virology (VIRO), and the Unit Global Health (UGH).
The VIRO institute, particularly its Immune Monitoring group, brings extensive experience in monitoring emerging infections such as SARS-CoV-2, as well as in the development of human monoclonal antibodies against mpox. Its high-containment biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories enable live-virus neutralization assays critical for evaluating vaccine efficacy against high-risk pathogens.
Complementing these efforts, the Unit Global Health (UGH), led by Prof. Michael Hoelscher, researches global health challenges in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on lung health and respiratory infections, and pioneers AI use in biomarker discovery, digital health, and population prediction tools.
“The European Vaccines Hub represents an important step forward in strengthening Europe’s ability to respond to future pandemics,” said Michael Hoelscher. “Our combined expertise in immunomonitoring and AI-driven global health research helps ensure that vaccine candidates can be rapidly and reliably evaluated.”
The EVH is coordinated by the Sclavo Vaccines Association and is organized around four core pillars – discovery, preclinical studies, clinical trials, and manufacturing – covering the entire vaccine development pipeline.
