Innovation, development, and licensure of improved influenza vaccines: the way forward

The Influenza Vaccines R&D Roadmap (IVR) Initiative was established to: (1) highlight the public health need for improved vaccines against pandemic and seasonal influenza; (2) raise the visibility of opportunities to create highly effective and rapidly produceable influenza vaccines; and (3) facilitate sustained investment in vaccine R&D. Incremental progress has been made in achieving many of the activities outlined in the IVR. However, without significant improvements in vaccine performance (efficacy, durability, ability to block virus transmission) and production (manufacturing speed, scale-up capacity, adaptability), we risk having to fight the next influenza pandemic with last century's technology. This report reviews remaining barriers to advanced development of vaccines for global use against seasonal and pandemic influenza and summarizes key priorities and activities for moving the influenza vaccine R&D enterprise forward.