KNVM

COGEM invites you to join the 2023 international symposium ‘Viruses, Replicons and Vaccines: opportunities, risks and regulation’, an international symposium on advancements in viral research and applications of viruses for medical purposes, which will be held on Thursday, the 9th of March 2023 in Amsterdam.

Over the last few years, a range of new and promising techniques have been developed concerning genetically modified (GM-)viruses. These GM-viruses can be employed for different medical applications, such as virotherapy to combat cancer cells, or as vaccines, like the Janssen and AstraZeneca vaccines against COVID.

In view of these developments, COGEM has decided to organize an international symposium to provide more insight into the current developments and the future applications of viral vaccines, oncolytic viruses and replicons, - amongst which the self-amplifying mRNAs -. Simultaneously, the opportunities, potential risks and implications for biosafety and policy that are associated with these advancements, will be explored.

For research with GM organisms (GMOs), rules are applied to maintain safety for human health and the environment. It is however questionable if the current rules and legislation are still tailored to these new developments. What should policy and politics do to help capitalise the opportunities offered by the new developments, whilst also securing safety for human health and the environment, and strengthening public confidence in these innovations?

The symposium is aimed at policy makers, members of scientific advisory bodies and scientists in the Netherlands and Europe. Participation is free of charge, but registration is required.

 

Practical information:

Date:                                               Thursday 9th of March 2023

Location:                                        De Koepelkerk, Kattengat 1, 1012 SZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Information & Registration:       www.cogemsymposium.nl

 

Preliminary programme:

 

09:30 – 10:00	Coffee and registration
OPENING & WELCOME
10:00 – 10:10	Welcome
	Prof. Sybe Schaap
SESSION 1:	Plenary session - Novel developments
10:15-11:00	Opportunities and Challenges for RNA vaccines and therapeutics
	Prof. Robin Shattock - Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London
11:00-11:45	Opportunities and Challenges for virus-based therapeutics in humans
	Prof. Ron Fouchier - Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center
11:45 – 13:15	Lunch
SESSION 2:	Clinical and veterinary therapeutics
13:15- 13:45	First-in-human clinical trial with an alphavirus-based replicon vaccine against HPV-induced cancers
	Prof. Toos Daemen - Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, University Medical Center Groningen
13:45 - 14:15	Title tba
	Dr. Martijn Langereis - MSD Animal Health
SESSION 3:	Biosafety aspects (working title)
14:15 - 14:45	Viral replicon systems and their biosafety aspects  - Inventory and description of viral replicon systems and characteristics relevant for risk assessment
	Dr. Karen van der Meulen  - Perseus
14:45 - 15:15	Title tba
	Dr. Gorben Pijlman - Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University
15:15– 15:45	Coffee Break
SESSION 4:	Considerations for regulation
15:45 - 17:15	Speakers tba, including discussion on future proof regulation
CONCLUDING REMARKS
17:15 - 17:25	Concluding remarks