EUPATI partners with VAC4EU (Vaccine Monitoring Collaboration for Europe) – entering a new area where patient involvement can be explored and enhanced.
The European Patients’ Academy of Therapeutic Innovation (EUPATI) is thrilled to partner with VAC4EU (Vaccine Monitoring Collaboration for Europe).
VAC4EU is the sustainability solution of the ADVANCE project which was funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative from October 2013 to March 2019. VAC4EU implements the ADVANCE vision, system and blueprint and enables robust, timely and collaborative evidence-generation on the effects of vaccines in Europe for use by citizens, health care professionals, public health organisations and regulatory agencies.
For EUPATI, this collaboration is very exciting in light of exploring patient involvement in vaccine development and literacy. By involving patient communities in vaccine development, roll-out and monitoring, vaccine relevance, trust and effectiveness can be achieved. Patient communities offer unique perspectives on the needs, experiences, and preferences of vulnerable or at-risk groups. Involving patients can also reduce vaccine hesitancy through increased awareness and vaccine literacy.
At the heart of EUPATI’s mission is the commitment to provide accessible information and education to empower patients and other stakeholders, with the vision of driving meaningful change in the health innovation ecosystem. Now, with this partnership, accessible materials and trainings can be co-created together with different stakeholders and made available to patients and the general public. EUPATI and VAC4EU also share common background as successful EU-funded IMI projects, offering valuable opportunities to learn from each other’s paths to sustainability.
Maria Dutarte, EUPATI Executive Director notes how “Together with VAC4EU, we hope to embark on a journey to explore the science behind vaccines, how they are developed, administered and monitored, and why patient participation in trials is critical. VAC4EU’s expertise in real‑world evidence generation on vaccine coverage, safety, and effectiveness across Europe, supporting public health bodies, regulators, vaccine-makers, clinicians, and the public is unique, while we as EUPATI bring the patient side and our experience in creating trainings and materials to this partnership”.
Daniel Weibel, VAC4EU Secretary General notes, “Active engagement of the patient community has brought valuable insights to clinical research. We can see that the establishment of patient advisory boards and the inclusion of patients in trials has led to valuable insight on how to improve the design and endpoints of clinical trials, for example. The data we use in VAC4EU studies are collected for the purpose of healthcare delivery or administration, as opposed to the highly controlled and intentional environment of a trial. The involvement of the patient in the creation of this evidence is a logical must. However, there is still room for improvement in finding the best ways to do so and centring patient voice. VAC4EU remains committed to investing in this area. With EUPATI’s extensive experience finding creative ways to engage and train the patient community in medical research, we know that their collaboration will be extremely valuable. We are looking forward to innovating together!”
About EUPATI: The European Patients’ Academy on Therapeutic Innovation (EUPATI) is a non-profit foundation with a multi-stakeholder structure that provides patients and the public with accessible, well-structured, and reliable education about the lifecycle of medicines research and development, while also upskilling professionals on meaningful patient involvement.
About VAC4EU: VAC4EU is a non-profit international association with the vision of evidence-based decision-making on vaccines. They are comprised of 28 member organisations with expertise in conducting regulatory-grade real-world evidence studies on the risks and benefits of vaccines. The VAC4EU community facilitates access to a shared framework, tools, and 14 real-world data sources representing 180 million people.
Date posted: June 30, 2025
Categories: Uncategorized
