Accelerating progress in the development of vaccines

This week the Elsevier Journal Vaccine, the most comprehensive and pre-eminent journal for those interested in vaccines and vaccination, organized the 2nd Vaccine Global Congress in Boston MA, USA.

For those people who could not attend the congress in Boston, the 1st Vaccine Virtual Congress was offered. This innovative alternative was very well received and enabled access to relevant research and the opportunity to connect with other vaccinologists.

The 2nd Vaccine Global Congress, organized in collaboration with the International Society for Vaccines (www.isv-online.org), attracted a mix of scientists, governmental authorities and healthcare workers and provided a broad state-of-the-art report. The scene was set by presentations on vaccines for the main infectious diseases HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis which kill 5 million people each year. Next to these major disease targets, sessions addressed topics such as cancer vaccines, adjuvants, delivery systems, vaccine policy and public health issues. "I was delighted to see so many people from different areas, all with the common objective of accelerating progress in the research, development and delivery of vaccines", said Professor Shan Lu from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worchester MA, USA and co-chairman of the congress; "The science presented was excellent and will form the basis for an increasingly needed prophylactic approach to healthcare".

With over 1100 pre-registrants, the 1st Vaccine Virtual Congress was also considered a huge success. Academics in research and development, regulatory and governmental agencies, charities, and health and industry professionals attended the congress from their desk at home or in the office. They were able to join live keynote presentations and submit questions in real time, review and download posters, network and chat with their online peers, and navigate the show via a virtual fully interactive platform.

"Together with ON24, the global leader in webcasting and virtual events solutions, we were able to create an interactive environment where delegates could access educational information and collaborate with peers regardless of physical boundaries, said Nigel Clair, Commercial Director of Elsevier, "in addition, people who registered can still access the content for another 3 months". Registration for the Vaccine Virtual Congress is still possible and free (www.vaccinecongress.com).

"As a professional congress organizer Elsevier is always aiming to provide delegates an excellent environment to hear presentations, network with peers and access rich information", said Nigel, "specifically, we will continue to strengthen our relationship with the important vaccine community and I already look forward to the 3rd Vaccine Global Congress that will be held early October 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand".