Completed
2024

PROMISE: preparing for RSV immunisation and surveillance in Europe

Duration: Nov 2021 - May 2024

Background
RSV is associated with substantial disease burden in young children and the elderly. Globally, an estimated 33 million young children are diagnosed with RSV each year, with over 3 million cases requiring hospitalisation. RSV accounts for hospitalisation of 1 in 5 young children 5 years diagnosed with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) and 1 in 6 in adults > 65 years. Annually, the virus causes an estimated 118,000 child deaths worldwide. RSV costs governments around the world nearly 5 billion euros every year.

Aim
The PROMISE- initiative will advance knowledge on RSV to better inform vaccination policies and drug development. The objective of PROMISE (Preparing for RSV Immunisation and Surveillance in Europe), an IMI (Innovative Medicines Initiative) project is taking a major leap forward in the fight against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in Europe and worldwide. In addition, the project will evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on RSV epidemiology with a special focus on older adults.
The PROMISE initiative builds on RESCEU’s (Respiratory Syncytial Virus Consortium in Europe) achievements, another IMI-funded project focused on generating insights into the impact of RSV on healthcare systems and society and creating a biorepository to assist future research.

Methodes
PROMISE will considerably advance scientific knowledge on RSV to better inform public health strategies and to support the development and monitoring of novel immunisation and therapeutics against this potentially deadly virus in the paediatric and elderly populations. At present, four potential vaccines and a monoclonal antibody to protect against this virus are in Phase III clinical studies, whilst another 15 products are under clinical development.
PROMISE aims to decrease this burden by:
- enhancing the value proposition for RSV immunisation by generating new insights on RSV and addressing current gaps, such as understanding the relationship between RSV infection and school age wheeze and asthma
- identifying new diagnostic tools and prophylactic interventions
- adding knowledge on RSV biomarkers

To achieve our aims, we will develop a robust surveillance network on RSV disease, that aims to strengthen epidemiological and virological surveillance in Europe, share this data among public health institutes and disclose surveillance data to the community. This will contribute to widening knowledge on respiratory infections in the community and guide therapeutics in the long term. More detailed information can be found on the project website imi-promise.eu

Project partners
Translational scientists, clinicians, public health agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, patient groups and clinical societies will work together within the PROMISE Consortium. The group represents 22 organisations with a track-record on RSV research:
- The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- University Medical Centre Utrecht, Netherlands
- University of Antwerp, Belgium
- Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, United Kingdom
- The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Finland
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands
- Nivel, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, Netherlands
- Intermunicipal Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Finland
- TEAM IT Research, Spain
- Respiratory Syncitial Virus Foundation (Resvinet), Netherlands
- Statens Serum Institut, Denmark
- Servizo Galego de Saúde, n autonomous administrative body responsible for the management and provision of health services in the Public National Health Care system in the Region of Galicia, Spain
- Fondazione PENTA, for the treatment and care of children with HIV and related diseases, ONLUS. Italy
- Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of Valencia Region, FISABIO, Spain
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany;
- Sanofi Pasteur SA, France
- GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA (GSK), Belgium;
- Janssen Pharmaceuticals NV, Belgium
- Novavax Inc., United States
- Pfizer Limited, United Kingdom
- Astrazeneca AB, Sweden

Funding
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA, the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking (grant agreement 101034339)

International project website
www.imi-promise.eu
Funding
EU - Horizon 2020
Project partners
The PROMISE Consortium consists of a total of 22 international organisations in the field of RSV research