Event Preview: World Vaccine Congress Europe 2026
Vaccine Insights 2026; 5(7)
10.18609/vac.2026.044
As part of our ongoing coverage of key events in the vaccines space, Vaccine Insights presents a preview of World Vaccine Congress Europe 2026, taking place on 19–21 October at the RAI Amsterdam. The 27th annual edition brings together the full vaccine value chain, from pre-clinical development and clinical trials through to manufacturing, supply chain, and market access.
Research & development
Innovation in vaccine platforms opens proceedings. Jeffrey Almond (University of Oxford) chairs a pre-congress workshop on Platform Technologies, featuring Wian de Jongh (Adaptvac) on cVLP vaccines and Jonathan Heeney (DIOSynVax) on AI-designed universal vaccine technology. The Day 1 opening keynote, moderated by Peter Marks (Eli Lilly), brings together Marco Cavaleri (EMA), Jerome Kim (IVI), and Annaliesa Anderson (Pfizer) to discuss the roadmap for platform vaccines in oncology, autoimmune disease, and infectious disease.
The Cancer & Therapeutic Vaccines pre-congress workshop, chaired by Luigi Buonaguro (National Cancer Institute Pascale), features an unexpected angle: two presentations linking recombinant shingles vaccination to reduced dementia and cardiovascular risk, from Maxime Taquet (University of Oxford) and Pascal Geldsetzer (Stanford University), followed by a fireside chat on the off-target effects of childhood and adult vaccines on unrelated chronic conditions.
Clinical development
Michael Caldwell (Meharry Medical College) chairs the Clinical Trials sessions, which include a dedicated panel on Controlled Human Infection Models moderated by Bassam Hallis (UKHSA), examining the evidence base for CHIM deployment ahead of CEPI’s 100-day mission. Regulatory perspectives run throughout, including a Vaccine Safety & Access panel on expedited pathways featuring Nicholas Perombelon (EMA) and Ruben Rizzi (BioNTech).
Pandemic preparedness & public health threats
The Biothreats & Disease X pre-congress workshop, led by Joris Vandeputte (VacciM), features Frances Priddy (Moderna) on the Bundibugyo Ebolavirus vaccine and Anthony Pajoy (Sanofi) on an mRNA H5 pandemic flu candidate. One Health is addressed directly in the Day 1 closing keynote, moderated by Keith Sumption (former FAO), while the AMR & Bacterial Vaccines sessions, chaired by Jan Poolman (CreaBacVac), open with Karin Hardt (J&J) presenting Phase 3 results showing a lack of efficacy for a 9-valent E. coli vaccine, ExPEC9V, in older adults.
Manufacturing & supply chains
The Vaccine Supply & Logistics pre-congress workshop opens with Giovanna Riggall (Unimed) on cold chain management, while Richard Welch (IAVI) chairs the Bioprocessing & Manufacturing sessions, spanning serum-free media and AI-driven process modelling. The International Bioclusters session compares national vaccine hub strategies from the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and India.
Access & geopolitics
Day 2 opens with 'The New Geopolitics of Vaccines,' moderated by Jayasree Iyer (Access to Medicines Foundation), featuring Folake Olayinka (Africa CDC) and Petro Terblanche (Afrigen Biologics) on manufacturing sovereignty and equitable access. The congress closes with “Europe’s Vision for Global Health Security,” featuring Charlie Weller (Wellcome Trust) and Saul Walker (CEPI) on sustainable vaccine financing.
Combination vaccines & life-course immunization
The Day 1 keynote 'One Shot, Many Frontiers,' moderated by Maria Elena Bottazzi (Baylor College of Medicine), examines the economic value and technical standards for multi-antigen vaccines, with contributions from Katherine O’Brien (WHO) and Mark Jit (NYU/LSHTM). A dedicated pre-congress workshop, chaired by Mateusz Hasso-Agopsowicz (WHO), features Farzana Muhib and Frederic Debellut (both PATH) on novel combination vaccines for children under five.
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