DRIVE Call for Tenders is open for sites for studying influenza vaccine effectiveness. The purpose of the call is to support the sharing of existing influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE) data and to establish new IVE studies able to collect vaccine brand-specific information. The call is open to any European organization, institution or network capable with the required infrastructure.

Those interested in applying for this call for tenders, the deadline is to 14th of May 2021. As last year, and advised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), DRIVE will adapt its European brand specific IVE platform to address the COVID-19 situation. Therefore, the annual study tender has been updated to encompass data collection on COVID-19, which will be essential to interpret its impact on the IVE assessment.

EMA and IMI representatives also agreed on the recommendation proposal for a more focused investment prioritizing to populations with higher coverage and disease burden with the aim to improve the feasibility of estimating brand specific IVE. This implies that the present Call will be targeting only the adult and older adult populations and in the hospital settings in order to obtain more reliable IVE data.

DRIVE has adapted its protocols and study network to the influence of COVID-19, as it is also expected to substantially impact the IVE studies for the 2021/22 season. Therefore, it will be essential for interested study sites to share COVID-19 related data with DRIVE as a new condition.

The Research Collaborator will be compensated by FISABIO (the DRIVE Coordinator) for data sharing and contribution to the analysis, and for its participation in project meetings. The allocated budget will be sized according to the associated workload and consequent contribution to the pooled analysis (in terms of sample size). The terms and conditions of collaboration will be formalized through a Research Agreement between the Research Collaborator and FISABIO (DRIVE Coordinator).

The benefits to the Research Collaborator include:

  • Generating robust brand specific IVE through a European network.
  • Implementing potentially innovative approaches for brand-specific IVE estimation.
  • Participation in the scientific discussion and publications process.
  • Receiving funding for data sharing and capacity building.
  • Participation in the DRIVE Annual Forum and General Assembly.

In case of any question related to the call, please contact: info@drive-eu.org.

Download documents here:

Call for tenders 2021/22 Specifications

Call for tenders 2021/22 Application form (for study sites)