Towards a coherent Nordic vision for vaccine R&D, manufacturing, and pandemic preparedness

Strengthening vaccine research, development, and manufacturing capability and capacity is essential to Nordic and global pandemic preparedness. The Nordic region possesses exceptional scientific, regulatory, and clinical assets, and there is potential to elevate these strengths through a coordinated regional approach. Drawing on insights from the Conference on Strengthening the Nordic Vaccine R&D and Manufacturing Ecosystem held in December 2025, this commentary highlights the importance for establishing a formal Nordic vaccine collaboration to translate diverse national strengths into a regional system that leverages public and private strengths and engages industry as a strategic partner. It outlines the enabling conditions for such a collaboration, including institutionalized governance structures, mapping of capabilities to identify gaps, harmonized clinical and regulatory pathways, sustained peacetime preparedness, and aligned funding mechanisms. It further emphasizes the importance of reframing preparedness as a matter of biosecurity. A more unified and deliberate Nordic approach would enhance regional resilience and strengthen the Nordics’ contribution to European and global pandemic preparedness.

The Nordic region possesses exceptional scientific, regulatory, and clinical assets for vaccine R&D and manufacturing – yet existing collaboration has been largely voluntary and person-dependent. Drawing on the December 2025 Conference on Strengthening the Nordic Vaccine R&D and Manufacturing Ecosystem, this commentary makes the case for formalising a coordinated Nordic approach to pandemic preparedness.

What you will learn

01

What scientific, regulatory, clinical, and manufacturing assets the five Nordic countries currently hold across the vaccine value chain

02

Why existing Nordic collaboration worked during COVID-19 but lacks the structures needed for sustained peacetime preparedness

03

What enabling conditions – governance, capability mapping, harmonised pathways, biosecurity framing, and coordinated funding – are needed for a formal Nordic vaccine collaboration

Enabling conditions for Nordic vaccine collaboration

1

Formalise governance & institutionalise coordination structures

2

Map capabilities via the Nordic Vaccine Directory to identify gaps

3

Harmonise clinical trial & regulatory pathways across the region

4

Reframe preparedness as biosecurity & align funding mechanisms

Key findings

The Nordic region has strong but fragmented vaccine assets – population-linked registries in all five countries, the Nordic Trial Alliance, CEPI's Oslo headquarters, Denmark's Bavarian Nordic and SSI, Finland's Biovian expansion, and AstraZeneca's Södertälje fill–finish site represent a powerful but insufficiently coordinated ecosystem

COVID-19 coordination was effective but fragile – the Group of Nordic State Epidemiologists enabled real-time information exchange and was highlighted by WHO as a model, yet mechanisms were largely voluntary and person-dependent, and may not provide continuity needed for long-term preparedness

The Nordic Vaccine Directory maps over 240 organisations across the end-to-end vaccine value chain, with 30% of entries validated by stakeholders at time of writing; it has the potential to guide funding, avoid duplication, and inform the broader European vaccine landscape once fully established

Preparedness must be reframed as biosecurity – positioning pandemic preparedness within a wider security and defence context, as articulated in the 2014 Könberg report, would enable engagement from ministries beyond health and allow the Nordics to draw on security-sector practices such as joint exercises and long-term capability planning

Key interests

Pandemic Preparedness

Nordic Collaboration

Vaccine Manufacturing

Global Health Security

Regulatory Harmonisation

Clinical Trial Networks

Biosecurity