Public Health-Driven Research and Innovation for Next-Generation Influenza Vaccines, European Union.

Influenza virus infections are a major public health threat. Vaccination is available, but unpredictable antigenic changes in circulating strains require annual modification of seasonal influenza vaccines. Vaccine effectiveness has proven limited, particularly in certain groups, such as the elderly. Moreover, preparedness for upcoming pandemics is challenging because we can predict neither the strain that will cause the next pandemic nor the severity of the pandemic. The European Union fosters research and innovation to develop novel vaccines that evoke broadly protective and long-lasting immune responses against both seasonal and pandemic influenza, underpinned by a political commitment to global public health.

Biotechnology as the engine for the Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy.

The European Commission has defined the Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) as the process of transforming life science knowledge into new, sustainable, eco-efficient and competitive products. The term "Bio-Economy" encompasses all industries and economic sectors that produce, manage and otherwise exploit biological resources and related services. Over the last decades biotechnologies have led to innovations in many agricultural, industrial, medical sectors and societal activities. Biotechnology will continue to be a major contributor to the Bio-Economy, playing an essential role in support of economic growth, employment, energy supply and a new generation of bio-products, and to maintain the standard of living. The paper reviews some of the main biotechnology-related research activities at European level. Beyond the 7th Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (FP7), several initiatives have been launched to better integrate FP7 with European national research activities, promote public-private partnerships and create better market and regulatory environments for stimulating innovation.

The European Innovative Medicines Initiative: Progress to Date.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative is a public-private partnership between the European Union and the pharmaceuticals industry that was established in 2008, with an overall budget of €5.3 billion from 2008 until 2024. The objective of the initiative is to boost pharmaceutical innovation in Europe and speed up the development of innovative medicines, vaccines and medical technologies, in particular in areas with high unmet needs. This article discusses the objectives of the initiative, its governance and main results and impact. The initiative has proved to be a unique platform for multi-stakeholder collaborations across Europe. It has contributed to the acceleration of the development process for medicines, from drug discovery to clinical development. The initiative has made important steps towards accessing and using real-world evidence for pharmaceutical research and development, and for healthcare decision-making. Several projects have contributed to a better understanding of the causes of diseases, and some are already delivering results, such as a vaccine against Ebola virus. The initiative has also significantly contributed to building capacity and resources for open use by the broader research and innovation community.

European strategy for vaccine development against infectious diseases.

Immunisation efforts save millions of lives every year, but vaccines hold the potential to deliver even greater health benefits for mankind. Vaccine research and development is highly complex, and it requires concerted public funding efforts to support. In this paper we discuss EU funding priorities and the resulting recent advancements in European vaccine research, and we lay out the EU strategy for aiding promising vaccine candidates to successfully reach the market.

Neuroscience data and tool sharing: a legal and policy framework for neuroinformatics.

The requirements for neuroinformatics to make a significant impact on neuroscience are not simply technical--the hardware, software, and protocols for collaborative research--they also include the legal and policy frameworks within which projects operate. This is not least because the creation of large collaborative scientific databases amplifies the complicated interactions between proprietary, for-profit R&D and public "open science." In this paper, we draw on experiences from the field of genomics to examine some of the likely consequences of these interactions in neuroscience. Facilitating the widespread sharing of data and tools for neuroscientific research will accelerate the development of neuroinformatics. We propose approaches to overcome the cultural and legal barriers that have slowed these developments to date. We also draw on legal strategies employed by the Free Software community, in suggesting frameworks neuroinformatics might adopt to reinforce the role of public-science databases, and propose a mechanism for identifying and allowing "open science" uses for data whilst still permitting flexible licensing for secondary commercial research.

Neuroinformatics: the integration of shared databases and tools towards integrative neuroscience.

There is significant interest amongst neuroscientists in sharing neuroscience data and analytical tools. The exchange of neuroscience data and tools between groups affords the opportunity to differently re-analyze previously collected data, encourage new neuroscience interpretations and foster otherwise uninitiated collaborations, and provide a framework for the further development of theoretically based models of brain function. Data sharing will ultimately reduce experimental and analytical error. Many small Internet accessible database initiatives have been developed and specialized analytical software and modeling tools are distributed within different fields of neuroscience. However, in addition large-scale international collaborations are required which involve new mechanisms of coordination and funding. Provided sufficient government support is given to such international initiatives, sharing of neuroscience data and tools can play a pivotal role in human brain research and lead to innovations in neuroscience, informatics and treatment of brain disorders. These innovations will enable application of theoretical modeling techniques to enhance our understanding of the integrative aspects of neuroscience. This article, authored by a multinational working group on neuroinformatics established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), articulates some of the challenges and lessons learned to date in efforts to achieve international collaborative neuroscience.