Immunobridging Trials: An Important Tool to Protect Vulnerable and Immunocompromised Patients Against Evolving Pathogens
Safeguarding patients from emerging infectious diseases demands strategies that prioritise patient well-being and protection. Immunobridging is an established trial methodology which has been increasingly employed to ensure patient protection and provide clinicians with swift access to vaccines. It uses immunological markers to infer the effectiveness of a new drug through a surrogate measure of efficacy. Recently, this method has also been employed to authorise novel drugs, such as COVID-19 vaccines, and this article explores the concepts behind immunobridging trials, their advantages, issues, and significance in the context of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Our goal is to improve awareness among clinicians, patient groups, regulators, and health leaders of the opportunities and issues of immunobridging, so that fewer patients are left without protection from infectious diseases, particularly from major pathogens that may emerge.
Authors
- Tal Brosh‐Nissimov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7154-2032)
- John S. Gill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8837-6875)
- Jie Min Lam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9523-5029)
- Yuxin Ying (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1633-3796)
- Dorry Lidor Segev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1924-4801)
- Lennard Y. W. Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8993-8438)
- Michael Hoerger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4398-2820)
- Yasmin Maor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7258-3434)
- Ghady Haidar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0634-8211)
- Jola Bytyci
- Ffion Samuels (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7882-4382)
- Antonio Pagliuca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2519-0333)
- Samira Bell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9100-1575)
- Pedro Cruz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8813-0632)
- François Raffi
- Jehad Abdalla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4162-1478)
Institutions
- Tulane University (US)
- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (IL)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Inserm (FR)
- Tel Aviv University (IL)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- University of Dundee (GB)
- King's College London (GB)
- Assuta Medical Center (IL)
- Wolfson Medical Center (IL)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Instituto Português de Oncologia Francisco Gentil (PT)
- IPO Porto (PT)
- St. Paul's Hospital (CA)
- Genomics (United Kingdom) (GB)
- University College London (GB)
- New York University (US)
- Nantes Université (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Vaccines
- Published
- 2024-12-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13010019
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.56