Inno4Vac Workshop Report Part 2: RSV-Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) Strain Selection and Immune Assays for...

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Immunology
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Controlled human infection models (CHIMs) are essential for understanding infectious diseases and evaluating vaccines.
• There is a growing need for suitable challenge agents for CHIMs in vaccine development.
• The Inno4Vac consortium aims to advance vaccine development using CHIMs for influenza, RSV, and Clostridium difficile.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss the selection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) candidate strains for CHIMs.
• To identify relevant immune assays for assessing pre-existing and post-infection responses in RSV CHIM studies.
• To define correlates of protection for RSV vaccine efficacy.

Main Methods:

• Summarizing presentations and discussions from a 2021 MHRA workshop.
• Focusing on candidate strain selection criteria for RSV CHIMs.
• Reviewing immune assays for evaluating immune responses to RSV infection.

Main Results:

• Key characteristics for selecting RSV CHIM strains were discussed.
• Appropriate immune assays for assessing RSV-specific immunity were identified.
• The importance of defining correlates of protection was emphasized.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing RSV CHIMs requires careful selection of virus strains and relevant immune assays.
• This work contributes to the standardization and advancement of CHIMs for RSV vaccine development.
• The findings support the Inno4Vac consortium's goals in de-risking vaccine development.