Webinar recording: Human Challenge Trials: Moving Vaccine Development Forward?

In human challenge trials, healthy, typically young, volunteers are exposed to infectious pathogens. They have been used for more than a century to define components of the immune response that correlate with protection. They also help scientists better understand the pathogenesis of disease so that vaccines can be designed to more effectively harness the efficiency of the immune system.

CAIRE collaborated with the University of Toronto’s Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases (CVPD) to bring together researchers across Canada to discuss human challenge trials for SARS-CoV-2 and pertussis and the ethical challenges associated with them.

The objectives of the webinar were to:

• Understand the utility and challenge of conducting human challenge trials in Canadian and European contexts.

• Explore the ethical considerations required by investigators and regulators in approving such trials.

We heard from:

• Dr. Scott Halperin, Professor, Pediatrics, Microbiology, Immunology, Dalhousie University; Director, Canadian Center for Vaccinology; Co-Principal Investigator, Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program–Active (IMPACT); Nominated Principal Investigator, Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN)

• Dr. Chris Chiu, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London