IVI and Canada
Canadian Leadership at IVI
Scientific Advisory Group
- Dr. Noni MacDonald, FRCPC, Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University (2021)
- Dr. Galit Alter, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School (2016- 2020)
- Dr. Elwyn Griffiths, Director General of the Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate, Health Canada (2001- 2006)
Ongoing Collaboration
Partnerships with VIDO-InterVAC at the University of Saskatchewan
In October 2019, during an official visit to IVI Headquarters by the Honorable Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan, IVI and the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) VIDO-InterVac, a global leader in infectious disease research and vaccine development, exchanged a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish future partnership in vaccine research and capacity-building. Through this MOU, IVI and VIDO-InterVAC are taking steps to exchange knowledge and opportunities for the shared mission of advancing vaccines.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, IVI and VIDO-InterVAC, have been partnering on a $180,000 project that will look at virus replication, immune responses, and the effect of antivirals and other medicines to combat COVID-19. The funding for the initiative comes from the USask International Blueprint’s Global Innovation Fund and VIDO-InterVac.
Partnerships with Shift Health
In 2021, with Funding from the Wellcome Trust, IVI and Canada’s Shift Health established a partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), and Europe’s Vacc-iNTS, to develop a Full Value of Vaccine Assessment (FVVA) for iNTS vaccines.
The Strep A Vaccine Global Consortium (SAVAC), established in 2019 by IVI to facilitate the development of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) vaccines, is building a Full Value of Vaccine Assessment (FVVA) for GAS vaccines, increasing the awareness of GAS vaccine development, and broadly identifying and filling R&D gaps for GAS vaccines, including advocacy, epidemiology/burden, pipeline, correlates, and funding. Canada’s Shift Health is a key partner in SAVAC and is developing the business case for GAS vaccines.
Previously, IVI and Shift Health worked on HIV vaccine development.
Partnerships with Sumagen
IVI is working with Canada’s Sumagen on a rVSV-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate. IVI is providing assistance with pre-clinical studies of the Sumagen COVID-19 vaccine.
Previously, IVI and Sumagen worked together on the development of a Zika vaccine candidate.