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Quarterly Newsletter:
July 2026
Issue #20
Editorial
From Progress to Action: Elevating the Role of Immunisation in Europe
Nicoletta Luppi, President and Managing Director of MSD Italia, President of Vaccines Europe
We stand at an inflection point. Over the past four years, Vaccines Europe has worked with partners across the health community to strengthen recognition of the value of life-course immunisation. This collective effort has supported a growing, evidenced-based understanding of what life course immunisation delivers: healthier and more productive populations and more resilient societies and economies with a high return on investment.
The next step is to turn this growing recognition into greater impact. In the years ahead, Vaccines Europe will continue to advance the role of immunisation in supporting healthy ageing, preparedness and security, health system sustainability, and workforce productivity. Immunisation must be understood not only as a health intervention, but as a strategic investment that delivers societal and economic resilience. In a few words, a concrete solution to manage demographic winter.
Continued progress will depend on collaboration and innovation. Europe has a strong scientific foundation, world-class research capabilities, and a long history of vaccine development and manufacturing. Building on these strengths requires closer cooperation among industry, academia, healthcare professionals, and public health stakeholders to improve access, strengthen confidence in immunisation, and respond to evolving health needs.
The value of immunisation extends far beyond disease prevention. It strengthens health security and preparedness by helping societies anticipate and respond to emerging threats. Further, at a time when Europe's population is ageing and shrinking, sustaining the financial base of healthcare and social systems is becoming increasingly difficult. Preserving fiscal sustainability will depend on our ability to keep people healthier for longer. Immunisation supports healthy ageing and reduces the burden of infectious diseases among people living with non-communicable conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, helping more people remain active and engaged throughout their lives. Beyond its public health impact, a thriving vaccine ecosystem also reinforces Europe's competitiveness, driving scientific excellence, innovation, and high-value manufacturing.
As Europe seeks to build healthier, more resilient, and sustainable societies, preventive care must become a greater priority for EU Commission and Member States. Immunisation and screening are among the most effective tools available to prevent illness, detect risks early, and improve outcomes. The economic case is equally strong: adult immunisation programmes can generate returns of up to 19 times the initial investment through avoided healthcare costs, increased productivity, and broader societal benefits. Between 2020 and 2024, no cervical cancer deaths were recorded in women aged 20 to 24 - the first time that had happened over a five-year period in England thanks to the introduction in 2008 of HPV vaccines. Investing in preventive care today, including immunisation and screening, will deliver lasting and sustainable value for individuals, communities, and future generations.
Vaccines Europe welcomes new leadership team
On 23 June, Vaccines Europe announced the appointment of Nicoletta Luppi (MSD) as President and Lorenzo Wittum (AstraZeneca) as Vice-President, marking a new chapter as we continue to advance the role of immunisation in supporting Europe’s social and economic resilience.
The appointments follow the conclusion of the mandates of Florence Baron-Papillon (Sanofi) and Juan Carlos Jaramillo (Valneva). We sincerely thank Florence and Juan Carlos for their significant engagement and commitment during a successful mandate, which strengthened recognition of the vaccine industry as a strategic asset to Europe’s competitiveness and of immunisation as a public health priority and capital investment.
Under the leadership of Nicoletta Luppi and Lorenzo Wittum, we remain committed to building on this momentum by addressing today’s challenges and preparing for tomorrows, while reinforcing immunisation’s role as a strategic health priority.
Vaccines Europe External Engagement
Investing in immunisation: strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, resilience, and global health security
On 11 June, we joined IFPMA in convening a high-level policy dialogue that brought together policymakers, public health and fiscal experts, and industry leaders to discuss how to translate the recognition of immunisation as a driver of Europe's competitiveness, resilience, and global health security into sustained investment.
It starts with governments recognising that immunisation and screening are not optional expenses to be cut, but investments in societal and economic resilience to be included in their medium-term fiscal plans, annual budgets, and national health strategies.
The demographic winter is shrinking the financial base needed to sustain and invest in EU health systems. This is placing unprecedented pressure on fiscal sustainability, which increasingly depends on our ability to keep people healthier for longer.
The data is clear: immunisation and screening reduces avoidable disease, limits downstream costs and supports healthier, more productive populations. Underinvesting in immunisation and screening doesn't save money but increases fiscal risk by shifting costs into the future, where they resurface as more expensive and far less predictable.
The New Economic Governance Framework (NEGF) provides an opportunity to treat low cost preventive care, especially immunisation and screening, as a long-term investment with high returns rather than a short-term expenditure:
- Governments can integrate immunisation and screening as growth-enabling investments within national fiscal planning.
- Countries need to protect and prioritise preventive care within public budgets beyond current fiscal cycles.
- Policymakers must make the explicit link between health and fiscal sustainability.
This roundtable is not a one-off discussion but the starting point for a structured, continuous dialogue among all stakeholders toward a shared goal: implementing preventive care, especially immunisation and screening, as a pillar of Europe's fiscal sustainability and societal resilience.
Thank you to all participants for joining us in this important discussion.
Events we participated in
- MBVE call to action launch event - 25 June, Brussels (Belgium)
- Patient Engagement Open Forum - 2-4 June, Seville (Spain)
- PGEU Annual Conference 2026 - 27 May, Wroclaw (Poland)
- ESCMID Global 2026 - 17-21 April, Munich (Germany)
- EPSA Annual Congress 2026 - 14 April (virtual)
Communications Highlights
European Immunisation Week 2026
Immunisation is a key pillar of public health, but its impact goes far beyond this. Immunisation protects individuals, reduces disease burden, and helps ensure that health systems remain sustainable. At the same time, it plays a critical role in preserving workforce productivity, supporting economic stability and strengthening health security.
A healthy population is the foundation of a resilient society and a competitive economy. Investing in prevention and immunisation means investing in people, in systems, and in long-term societal wellbeing.
During this year's European Immunisation Week, Sibilia Quilici explored why immunisation matters for health, resilience and prosperity.
Immunisation technologies
Immunisation, once reliant on a limited set of technologies, has significantly evolved to incorporate scientific and technological advancements. Today, a broad spectrum of vaccine platforms exists, enabling protection against a wider range of pathogens and infectious diseases and allowing for more targeted approaches tailored to different population needs. This diversity supports flexible immunisation strategies that consider factors such as age, underlying health conditions, cultural beliefs, geographic location, and socio-economic status, helping to improve vaccine acceptance and accessibility.
Crucially, the availability of multiple vaccine technologies boosts global preparedness and response capabilities, increasing the likelihood of rapid and successful vaccine development in the face of emerging health threats.
#PreventionForChange
Europe spends only around 0.5% of healthcare budgets on immunisation, yet it strengthens economic growth, workforce productivity, health security, emergency preparedness, fiscal sustainability, and European resilience and competitiveness.
At a time when ageing populations, chronic diseases and workforce shortages are putting enormous pressure on public finances, prevention should not be viewed as a cost, but as a capital investment. The question is no longer whether we can afford to invest more in immunisation. The question is whether we can afford not to.
Annual Report 2025
- The fourth annual Pipeline Review, revealing 91 vaccine and monoclonal antibody candidates currently in clinical development by Vaccines Europe member companies.
- Our work supporting the implementation of the EU Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Regulation for vaccines.
- Continued efforts to demonstrate the value of immunisation beyond infectious disease prevention, including advancing the EU Safe Hearts Plan to address cardiovascular disease (CVD).
- Our advocacy to reinforce the message that immunisation is an investment in healthier societies and more resilient economies.
- Our work on the Biotech Act, a key opportunity to strengthen Europe’s biotech competitiveness and attract high-value research and development.
- Strengthening Vaccines Today to ensure it remains a trusted, fit-for-purpose platform in an era of increasing misinformation.
- Our events, partnerships, and collaborations with key stakeholders across the European vaccine ecosystem.
Vaccines as Global Health Security Infrastructure: Insights from a Descriptive Analysis of Vaccines Europe Members’ Clinical Pipelines
For 4 years, Vaccines Europe has tracked the vaccine and prophylactic monoclonal antibodies currently in clinical development across its member companies. Now, for the first time, this work has been published as a peer-reviewed article in the journal Vaccines, offering a retrospective look at how the pipeline has evolved between 2022 and 2025.
Over this period:
- 87 new candidates entered the pipeline
- 50 candidates progressed through clinical development phases
- 32 candidates received marketing authorisation
- 49 development programmes were discontinued.
As the EU faces growing healthcare challenges, from ageing populations and AMR, to the health impacts of climate change, supporting innovation in immunisation is more important than ever.
With negotiations underway on the EU's long-term budget (MFF) and its next R&I funding programme (FP10), Europe has a critical window to make health preparedness a strategic priority.
Together with Members of the European Parliament and partner organisations, we called for sustained investment in vaccine innovation, stronger public–private collaboration, and a coordinated approach to health security and preparedness.
Investing in preventive care, especially immuniastion, is essential to strengthen resilience, competitiveness, and Europe's ability to respond to future health threats.
Key Figures
Highlights in Europe
The behavioural science behind vaccination acceptance
The European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control (ECDC) is responsible for strengthening Europe’s defences against infectious diseases. As an EU body, it collects data from Member States, identifies health threats and publishes expert advice.
One area of public health that has progressed in recent years is the growing influence of social sciences. In particular, behavioural research can be applied to understand what drives people to accept vaccination – and the barriers that lead a minority of people to opt out.
Vaccines Today asked ECDC experts how the agency is supporting European countries and healthcare professionals in protecting the public against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Health Policy Highlights
Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU (July–December 2026)
On 10 June, the Irish government presented the priorities and programme for its Presidency of the Council of the EU, running from July to December 2026. Built around three pillars: competitiveness, security, and values and under the slogan 'Strength with Unity', the programme makes prevention a central health priority, alongside innovation, clinical trials, women's health, and health security.
A key commitment is accelerating the implementation of the EU Safe Hearts Plan, through innovations in prevention, early detection, and integrated care. As a reminder, the Plan proposes a Council Recommendation on immunisation as a tool for CVD prevention, making the Presidency a timely opportunity to advance concrete action on immunisation across the EU.
We welcome this focus. As Europe’s population ages and healthcare systems face mounting fiscal pressure, investment in preventive care, especially immunisation and screening, is not just a health imperative but an economic one. Every euro spent on keeping people healthy is a euro saved on treating avoidable disease later. Adult immunisation programmes can deliver returns of up to 19x their initial investment. As such, we urge the Irish Presidency to keep preventive care firmly at the heart of its agenda.
On events, the official Presidency programme includes the 2026 Annual Conference of the European Society for Prevention Research (Dublin, 15–18 September), centred on innovation in prevention and health equity. Two associated events are also planned for October/November: Strengthening Europe's Health Security: Vaccination, Innovation and Public Trust, organised by the Infectious Disease Alliance, and Healthy Societies, Competitive Europe: Prevention, Innovation and Health Security, organised by Trinity College Dublin.
On the legislative front, the Presidency has flagged the Biotech Act I, Medical Devices Regulations, European Health Data Space, and Critical Medicines Act as priorities. Vaccines Europe will continue to monitor the Presidency's health agenda and engage on relevant files.
European Parliament report on and EU cardiovascular disease (CVD) strategy
Following several months of discussion and negotiation among Members of the European Parliament, the SANT Committee voted on 24 June on the own-initiative report calling for a dedicated EU cardiovascular disease (CVD) strategy.
The report makes a clear case for immunisation as a pillar of cardiovascular prevention. MEPs recognise the link between respiratory infections and CVD risk, welcome the Council Recommendation on vaccination as a preventive measure, and call on the Commission to advance it alongside national cardiovascular health plans. They also flag that fragmented care, immunisation included, too often leaves CVD patients without timely or consistent support. Perhaps most concretely, the report calls for EU funding to actively tackle cardiovascular health inequalities through investment in immunisation and screening.
With the plenary vote expected in September, the report represents a significant step towards embedding immunisation as a key pillar of CVD preventive care.
EU Global Health Resilience Initiative
On 13 May, the European Commission published its Communication on Reinforcing Global Health Resilience Amidst Geopolitical Change as a welcome step in addressing growing instability in the global health landscape.
The Communication gets several things right: it recognises the competitiveness of Europe's innovative vaccines industry as a core pillar of resilience, and affirms support for prevention, immunisation, resilient supply chains, and voluntary, partnership-based approaches.
However, if the EU is serious about leading on global health, investing in the vaccines industry must be central to that ambition. The vaccine sector is not only a strategic health security asset but a key driver of societal and economic resilience.
Vaccines Europe will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders as implementation takes shape.
What We Are Reading & Watching
The Impact of Ageing on the Fiscal Sustainability of EU Health Care Systems: Projections and Policy Responses - Report by the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN)
European Medicines Agency Annual Report 2025
Consolidated Annual Activity Report 2025 - by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
Enabling innovation: The R&D ecosystem for medicines and vaccines - report by IFPMA
Cervical cancer mortality trends following HPV vaccination in England, 2001–24: an analysis of population-based mortality data - article in The Lancet
