VACCELERATE is a European clinical research network for the coordination and conduct of studies on COVID-19 vaccines. The network was created on the initiative and with the financial support of the European Commission (Horizon 2020; Grant Agreement n°101037867) and is coordinated by the University Hospital of Cologne (Germany). Launched in February 2021, the network is made up of academic institutions from across Europe and currently involves 29 partners from 18 EU Member States (including Italy) and 5 other associated countries.
The aim of the project is to connect all European actors involved in the development of COVID-19 vaccines and provide a pan-European platform for the design and conduct of phase II and III clinical trials, for example to study the efficacy of vaccines against new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, or efficacy studies in children or pregnant women, or efficacy of combined vaccines.
The VACCELERATE project includes several activities, divided into work packages. One of these concerns the detection, through standardized methods and protocols, of the capabilities of the centers and laboratories interested in conducting clinical trials on anti-COVID-19 vaccines (capacity mapping).
VACCELERATE also provides standardized training and quality management pathways to the participating centers to ensure a harmonized approach to data acquisition in clinical trials across all sites in the network. So far, the network includes 488 clinical trial centers in 39 European countries, and a further 33 centers have expressed interest in joining.
Another activity of VACCELERATE is to create an EU registry of volunteer subjects, the so-called “Volunteer Registry”, to allow a fast and effective recruitment of participants in phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, with an initial focus on the COVID- 19 and the possible extension to other objectives in case of any future epidemics/pandemics. The registry is aimed at people of all ages interested in participating in a clinical study on COVID-19, regardless of previous SARS-CoV2 infection or vaccination against COVID-19. In accordance with the legal requirements, the “Register of Volunteers” has received a positive evaluation from the Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne. It is currently active in 15 EU Member States and has over 36,000 registered people of which 14,000 with a profile suitable to be able to participate in one of the ongoing clinical trials. The Registry was also launched in our country with the support of the University of Verona, which is part of the Coordination Board and who is the national coordinator for Italy in the VACCELERATE project.
(Source: National Institute of Health – News 5 January 2023)