Program

The Virtual Global Forum program included presentation and panel discussions focused on progress and key issues in TB vaccine R&D against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to view the program-at-a-glance.

Click here to download the full program.

Click here to read the meeting report, published in Vaccine.

Presentations have been posted below where permission has been granted by the presenter (indicated by red hyperlinked titles below).

Tuesday 20 April 2021

OPENING SESSION

Click here to view the recording of the Opening Session

CO-CHAIRS
Nick Drager, TBVI (Switzerland) | Mark Feinberg, IAVI (USA) | David Lewinsohn, Working Group on New TB Vaccines (USA)

WELCOME REMARKS

  • Nick Drager, TBVI (Switzerland)
  • Mark Feinberg, IAVI (USA)
  • David Lewinsohn, Working Group on New TB Vaccines (USA)
  • Lucica Ditiu, Stop TB Partnership (Switzerland)

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

  • Honorable Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Government of India; Chairman Stop TB Partnership Board (India) - by videoaddress

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

  • Helen Rees, Wits RHI, Wits University (South Africa)

OPENING REMARKS

  • Emilio A. Emini, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (USA) - by videoaddress
  • Emily Erbelding, NIAID Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (USA)
  • Michael Makanga, European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (Netherlands)

SCIENTIFIC SESSION: NOVEL INSIGHTS AND APPROACHES TO TB VACCINE R&D

CO-CHAIRS
Willem Hanekom, Africa Health Research Institute (South Africa) | Huang Huang, Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, Stanford University (USA)

Part 1 - Granulomas: Novel insights into an ancient structure

Visualizing immunosuppressive microenvironments in Mycobacterium tuberculosis granulomas
Micheal Gerner, University of Washington, Department of Immunology (USA)

Insights into features of bacterial control from single cell profiling of TB granulomas
Hannah Priyadarshini Gideon, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (USA)

Part 2 - Novel insights into protective immunity

Vaccination - intended and non-intended consequences
Andrea M. Cooper, University of Leicester (UK)

Dissecting antibody functions in tuberculosis
Lenette Lu, Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center (USA)

Part 3 - Novel vaccine delivery platform

mRNA vaccines against tuberculosis
Mustafa Diken, BioNTech (Germany)

SPECIAL SESSION: ACCELERATING TB VACCINE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: LAUNCH OF A GLOBAL ROADMAP

CO-CHAIRS:
Mark Hatherill, South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (South Africa) | Matteo Zignol, Global TB Programme, World Health Organization (Switzerland)

The TB Vaccine Roadmap: actions and enabling considerations
Frank Cobelens, Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (Netherlands)

Opportunities for TB vaccine R&D
Willem Hanekom, Africa Health Research Institute (South Africa)

A community perspective on the TB vaccine R&D roadmap
Blessina Kumar, Global Coalition of TB Activists (India)

Panel discussion featuring

  • Videlis Nduba, Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kenya)
  • Ann Ginsberg, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (USA)
  • Birgitte Giersing, Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB), World Health Organization (Switzerland)
  • Rajinder Suri, Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (India)
  • Agnes Saint-Raymond, European Medicines Agency (UK)

Closing Remarks
Michael Makanga, European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (Netherlands)

This special session is organized by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD). 

Wednesday 21 April 2021

SCIENTIFIC SESSION: CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TB VACCINES

CO-CHAIRS
Ann Ginsberg, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (USA) | Monde Muyoyeta, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (Zambia)

Advancing TB vaccine candidates in the clinic
Ann Ginsberg, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (USA)

Update on development activities for M72/AS01E
Alexander Schmidt, Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (USA)

The DAR-901 prevention of infection trial
C. Fordham von Reyn, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine (USA)

MTBVAC, an attenuated TB vaccine: looking towards the efficacy trial
Ingrid Murillo Jelsbak, Biofabri, Zendal Group (Spain)

The tuberculosis vaccine H56:IC31
Alvaro Borges, Center for Vaccine Research, Statens Serum Institut (Denmark)

A brief update on the VPM1002 candidate
Sajjad Desai, Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd. (India)

From TB to COVID and back again: public involvement as an essential science
Anastasia Koch and Cheleka Anne-Marie Mpande, Eh!woza (South Africa)

PANEL DISCUSSION: POLICY AND ACCESS ISSUES FOR TB VACCINES

Rapid uptake of future TB vaccines will be needed to deliver health and economic impact in affected countries, but historical experience indicates that uptake of new vaccines tends to be significantly delayed precisely in countries where the need is the greatest. Building on previous introduction and implementation experiences, this panel will discuss how TB vaccine stakeholders can work together, across sectors and along the full research continuum, to plan for accelerated global access to new TB vaccines.

CO-CHAIRS
Alejandro Cravioto, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico) | Shelly Malhotra, IAVI (USA)

OPENING REMARKS

Stéphanie Seydoux, French Ambassador for Global Health, French Republic

PANELISTS

  • Luciana Leite, Instituto Butantan (Brazil)
  • Evaline Kibuchi, Stop TB Partnership Kenya (Kenya)
  • Muhwa Jeremiah Chakaya, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (UK); Respiratory Society of Kenya (Kenya)
  • Cherise Scott, UNITAID (Switzerland)

SPONSORED SESSION: IMPACT OF TB PREVENTIVE THERAPY (TPT) AS STANDARD OF CARE ON TB VACCINE DEVELOPMENT

The WHO guidelines on TB preventive treatment issued in 2020 provided updated recommendations for TPT of individuals at high risk of TB infection, such as household contacts. Join our panel discussion for a conversation about the effect of these recommendations and widespread TPT use on TB vaccine development:
- Identifying a population with a high TB incidence for vaccine efficacy assessments
- The ethical considerations for TB vaccine clinical trials
- Lessons learned from HIV prevention clinical trials that might be applied in TB vaccine trials

Panelists

  • Ghiorghis (George) Belai, FHI Clinical (Kenya)
  • Falgunee K. Parekh, EpiPointe (USA)
  • Jon "Ben" Woods, Physician, Pediatric Infectious Disease (USA)
  • Carole D. Mitnick, Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School (USA)

This session was sponsored and organized by FHI Clinical.

SKILL-BUILDING WORKSHOP: ADVOCACY FOR RESEARCHERS

This workshop is aimed at researchers who are interested in learning how they can contribute their experience and their voice to advocate for TB vaccine research and development, although anyone who is interested in building their advocacy skills is welcome. The workshop will include an overview of key topics in advocacy, followed by interactive breakout groups.

What is advocacy and why is it important for researchers to advocate?
Uvi Naidoo, Pediatrician (South Africa)
David Lewinsohn, Working Group on New TB Vaccines; Oregon Health & Science University (USA)

Advocating to governments for policies and funding
Evaline Kibuchi, Global TB Caucus Africa Region; Stop TB Partnership Kenya (Kenya)
Agustin Martin, DSW (Germany/EU) (slides)
Nandita Venkatesan (India)

Advocating to communities and civil society to increase knowledge and interest
Anastasia Koch, Eh!woza (South Africa)
Rosa Herrera, Global TB CAB; TB Proof (Mexico)

How to communicate scientific findings for advocacy
Cheleka Mpande, Eh!Woza; South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (South Africa)
Laia Ruiz Mingote (Spain)

Tools for advocacy
Rabita Aziz, Infectious Diseases Society of America (USA) (slides)
Rhea Lobo, Bolo Didi (Denmark)

This workshop was organized by the Stop TB Partnership Working Group on New TB Vaccines Advocacy Subgroup.

Thursday 22 April 2021

SCIENTIFIC SESSION: BCG, 100 YEARS LATER

CO-CHAIRS
Camille Locht, Inserm; Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille (France) | Puck Teetje Pelzer, KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (Netherlands)

BCG: What have we learned in 100 years?
Helen McShane, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford (UK)

Trained immunity as a mechanism behind the wider applicability of BCG
Simone Joosten, Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center (Netherlands)

BCG trials for COVID-19 and other respiratory infections
Nigel Curtis, The University of Melbourne; Murdoch Children's Research Institute (Australia)

BCG revaccination: trial endpoints and potential policy impact
Gavin Churchyard, Aurum Institute (South Africa)

Potential effect of disruptions to BCG vaccination on global paediatric tuberculosis mortality
Richard G. White, Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectous Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK)

PANEL DISCUSSION: LEVERAGING COVID-19 TO ADVANCE TB VACCINE R&D

Click here to view the recording of this panel discussion.

COVID-19 vaccine development is happening at an unprecedented speed, drawing on extraordinary resources, including R&D capacity. Some of the results of this global effort will result in licensure of COVID-19 vaccines based on established vaccine technologies, validation of novel vaccine platforms and technologies, accelerated regulatory pathways, and systems for anticipated implementation. This panel session will discuss how these advances could leveraged for TB and other infectious diseases.

CO-CHAIRS
Gerald Voss, TBVI (Belgium) | Julio Croda, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation; School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil)

PANELISTS

  • Nicole Lurie, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (UK)
  • Jim Kublin, HVTN; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (USA)
  • Erica Andersen-Nissen, Cape Town HIV Immunology Laboratory (South Africa)
  • Valerie Oriol Mathieu, Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines (Netherlands)
  • Gordon Dougan, Wellcome (UK)
  • Hassan Mahomed, Stellenbosch University (South Africa)

PANEL DISCUSSION: CLOSING THE FINANCING GAP FOR TB VACCINE R&D

Click here to view the recording of this panel discussion.

The funding gap continues to be one of the biggest challenges for TB vaccine development. TB R&D funding in 2019 reached $900 million, less than half of the US$2 billion/year target agreed by member states at the UN High level meeting on TB in 2018. Enhanced progress in the discovery, translational and especially advanced clinical development of new TB vaccines requires considerably more funding to reach fruition. Panellists in this session will assess the main barriers to closing the funding gap on TB vaccine R&D and discuss strategies and solutions to address these barriers and build support for TB vaccines R&D across the research continuum.

CO-CHAIRS
Glaudina Loots, Department of Science and Technology (South Africa) | Mike Frick, Treatment Action Group (USA)

PANELISTS

  • Shiva Dustdar, European Investment Bank (Luxembourg)
  • Manjula Singh, Indian Council on Medical Research (India)
  • Nicolas Menzies, Harvard T.H. Chan  School of Public Health (USA)
  • Lucica Ditiu, Stop TB Partnership (Switzerland)

CLOSING SESSION

Click here to view the recording of the Closing Session

CO-CHAIRS
Nick Drager, TBVI (Switzerland) | Mark Feinberg, IAVI (USA), David Lewinsohn, Working Group on New TB Vaccines (USA)

CLOSING REMARKS
Eric Goosby, UCSF-Gladstone Center for AIDS Research, former United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy for Tuberculosis

CO-CHAIRS
Nick Drager, TBVI (Switzerland) | Mark Feinberg, IAVI (USA), David Lewinsohn, Working Group on New TB Vaccines (USA)

CLOSING ADDRESS
Soumya Swaminathan, World Health Organization (Switzerland)

REMARKS FROM THE 6TH GLOBAL FORUM HOST COUNTRY
Mr. Olivier Veran, French Minister for Solidarity and Health, French Republic