Oxford Vaccine Group

The Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG) is a vaccine research group within the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1994 by Professor E. Richard Moxon, was initially based at the John Radcliffe Hospital, and moved in 2003 to its current location in the Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine (CCVTM) at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, England.[1] The group, led by Professor Andrew Pollard since 2001, comprises around 75 members across a number of disciplines, including consultants in paediatrics and vaccinology, clinical research fellows, research nurses, statisticians, post-doctoral laboratory scientists, research assistants and DPhil students.

Oxford Vaccine Group
Formation1994
PurposeResearch and clinical trials
Location
  • Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine (CCVTM), Churchill Hospital, Oxford, England
Director
Professor Andrew J Pollard
Parent organization
University of Oxford
AffiliationsUKCRC registered
Staff
75
Websitewww.ovg.ox.ac.uk

OVG came to public prominence in 2020 for the vaccine it created to combat COVID-19.

Aims and background

OVG carries out research on vaccines to improve human health. It works to enhance the understanding of immunity, studies the epidemiology of infectious diseases, and conducts clinical trials into new and improved vaccines for children and adults. Research by Richard Moxon into the public health impact of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) invasive disease in the UK, and efficacy studies of the Hib conjugate vaccine in UK children, led to the founding of OVG in 1994.[2] Since then OVG has particularly specialised in research into meningococcal disease and vaccines to prevent the disease. OVG has been involved with the development of the new vaccine against MenB which was licensed in Europe in 2013.[3][4] The Group has also carried out research on pneumococcal vaccines, typhoid vaccines and, more recently, new vaccines against Ebola.

OVG is a research group within the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Oxford. It is a UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) registered clinical trials unit working in collaboration with the Primary Care Unit Clinical Trials Unit (Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences) and the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford.[5][6] It is also a participant in the UK Paediatric Vaccine Group (UKPVG)[7] and contributes to the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust’s tertiary Paediatric Infectious Disease and Immunology Service.[8] All OVG trials are listed on the UK Clinical Trials Gateway. OVG supports the All Trials Campaign.[9]

Professor Andrew Pollard, OVG’s Director, was appointed Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in March 2014.[10] Senior staff at OVG are periodically asked to give expert opinions on aspects of vaccines and infectious disease, especially meningococcal disease. For example the 2015 announcement that 14- to 18-year-olds in the UK are to be vaccinated against MenW disease,[11] and the 2012 European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommendation for approval of a new meningitis B vaccine.[12]

Research activity

Since 2001, OVG has enrolled over 12,500 adults and children into clinical trials in the Thames Valley area of England. OVG research has included:

  • 2003: a study looking at the mid- to long-term effectiveness of the Meningitis C vaccine.[13][14] This research showed that immunity waned over time, and formed part of the evidence leading to the changes in the UK MenC vaccine schedule in 2013.[15][16]
  • 2005 onwards: collaborative projects with the paediatric department of Patan Hospital in Nepal, studying children admitted to the hospital with febrile illnesses and cases of typhoid, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib disease) and pneumonia, and evaluating carriage of Hib disease and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
  • 2006: a study looking at the effectiveness of a new vaccine against the bird flu virus H5N1 in children and adults.[17][18]
  • 2006: a phase II trial of a new vaccine against MenB disease.[19] This was the first time the vaccine had been used in babies. The trial results were successful and led to phase III trials and ultimately the licensing of the new vaccine, Bexsero, in 2013.[3]
  • 2009: a study comparing the effectiveness of two new vaccines against the swine flu virus H1N1 in children and adults.[20][21][22]
  • 2010: a study of a new quadrivalent meningococcal (MenACWY) vaccine.[23]
  • 2011 onwards: Ongoing participation in an EU Childhood Life-threatening Infectious Disease Study (EUCLIDS) work package looking at genetic responses to MenC and MenB vaccines.[24]
  • 2011 onwards: a series of challenge studies to test new vaccines against typhoid and paratyphoid fever.
  • 2014-15: a phase 1 study into a new vaccine against Ebola.[25][26] In January 2015 this trial was commended in the House of Commons by Nicola Blackwood MP and Prime Minister David Cameron.[27]
  • 2020 onwards: a vaccine against COVID-19, the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, has been created and approved, and as of 2021 is in worldwide use along several other vaccines such as the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.[28][29]

Funding

The OVG is funded not only by its alma mater and UK government bodies such as the Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and Public Health England (PHE),[30] but also private UK charities like the Wellcome Trust, Meningitis Research Foundation, Meningitis UK and Action Medical Research.[31]

The group has earned attention from international funders like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as undisclosed vaccine manufacturers.[31]

The probable commercial success of the ChAdOx1-based AZD1222 product led the BMGF to prod the OVG into a deal with AstraZeneca under which the financial reward would be split between partners, instead of "donat(ing) the rights to its promising coronavirus vaccine to any drugmaker" in a misguided effort "to provide medicines preventing or treating COVID-19 at a low cost or free of charge." Under the extant deal, the OVG (or the trustees of Oxford University) will have another revenue stream with which to finance its activities.[32]

Vaccine Knowledge Project

In 2011, the group launched the Vaccine Knowledge Project, funded by the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.[33] The project website aims to provide independent, evidence-based information about vaccines and infectious diseases. The NHS Choices website lists the Vaccine Knowledge website as a recommended external link on several of its pages.[34][35][36] The website has also been referenced in the national media in the UK, particularly during the 2014-15 US measles outbreak originating in Disneyland California.[37][38] The project is a member of the Vaccine Safety Net.[39]

Awards

In November 2021 the team were awarded a Pride of Britain Award for their work on the COVID-19 vaccine.[40]

References
  1. Oxford Vaccine Group website. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  2. Biography of Richard Moxon, The Jenner Institute website, University of Oxford. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  3. Sarah Boseley, Health Editor (15 May 2008). "Meningitis B tests raise hope of vaccine". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2015. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  4. Denis Campbell (16 November 2012). "Doctors hail meningitis vaccine 'breakthrough'". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  5. "Primary Care and Vaccines Collaborative Clinical Trials Unit website. Retrieved 25 June 2015". Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  6. List of registered clinical trials units on the UK Clinical Research Collaboration website. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  7. List of UKPVG participating organisations on the UK Paediatric Vaccine Group website. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  8. Paediatric Infectious Disease and Immunology website. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  9. Oxford Vaccine Group signature on the All Trials Campaign website. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  10. Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation membership. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  11. Science Media Centre, 15 March 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  12. Science Media Centre, 16 November 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  13. "Meningitis C vaccine 'wears off in early teens'". BBC News. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  14. Perrett KP, et al. Antibody persistence after serogroup C meningococcal conjugate immunization of United Kingdom primary-school children in 1999-2000 and response to a booster: a phase 4 clinical trial. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2010 Jun 15;50(12):1601-10
  15. "Teen jab theory over meningitis C". BBC News. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  16. "Meningitis C vaccine 'wears off in early teens'". BBC News. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  17. Fergus Walsh (24 May 2006). "I am testing new bird flu jab". BBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  18. Leroux-Roels I, et al. Humoral and cellular immune responses to split-virion H5N1 influenza vaccine in young and elderly adults. Vaccine 2009 Nov 16;27(49):6918-25.
  19. Fergus Walsh (20 October 2006). "Meningitis B vaccine trials begin". BBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  20. "Child swine flu vaccine trial results published". BBC News. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  21. "Children respond well to swine flu vaccines, trial shows". The Guardian. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  22. Waddington CS, et al. Safety and immunogenicity of AS03B adjuvanted split virion versus non-adjuvanted whole virion H1N1 influenza vaccine in UK children aged 6 months-12 years: open label, randomised, parallel group, multicentre study. BMJ 2010;340:c2649
  23. Reg Little (18 February 2010). "Never-ending war on disease". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  24. EUCLIDS work packages. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  25. Fergus Walsh (6 January 2015). "Ebola: New vaccine trial begins". BBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  26. "Oxford University doctors and scientists start trials for new Ebola vaccine". ITV News. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  27. Transcript of Oral Answers to Questions – Prime Minister – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  28. Gallagher, James (20 July 2020). "Coronavirus: Oxford vaccine triggers immune response". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  29. "Oxford University breakthrough on global COVID-19 vaccine". Oxford University. 23 November 2020.
  30. "Funding for new COVID-19 studies awarded to OVG's project on infectious disease immunity in children". University of Oxford, Department of Paediatrics, Level 2, Children's Hospital, John Radcliffe, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DU. 17 April 2020.
  31. "Oxford Vaccine Group". University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division. April 2014.
  32. Hancock, Jay (25 August 2020). "They Pledged to Donate Rights to Their COVID Vaccine, Then Sold Them to Pharma". KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION. Kaiser Health News.
  33. Vaccine Knowledge homepage. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  34. NHS Choices page on the MenC vaccine with external link to Vaccine Knowledge website. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  35. NHS Choices page on the 3-in-1 teenage booster vaccine with external link to Vaccine Knowledge website. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  36. NHS Choices page on Vaccine Myths with external link to Vaccine Knowledge website. Retrieved 25 June 2015
  37. Claire Armitstead (2 February 2015). "Roald Dahl becomes sage of US measles outbreak". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  38. Jules Montague (10 February 2015). "We should listen to Roald Dahl, not Jenny McCarthy, on vaccinating our children". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  39. "Vaccine Safety Net: members". Vaccine Safety Net. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  40. "Pride of Britain Awards". Retrieved 4 November 2021.
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