The European Union is committing €225 million to speed up the development of next-generation flu vaccines that will offer protection across a wider range of influenza variants and quickly adapted if a pandemic strain emerges. It marks the first time the Commission will be using pre-commercial procurement to advance products through clinical trials, ensuring they meet strict safety, quality and efficacy criteria, while supporting innovations that might otherwise stall without public intervention.

The funding will support vaccines designed to be easier to administer via the nose, mouth or skin patches and rapidly scaled up in emergencies.

Flu viruses evolve constantly, which means vaccine technology must keep pace. This investment will accelerate vaccine development and strengthen Europe's ability to respond at scale. Through full clinical development of promising vaccine candidates, the EU aims to widen the pipeline, putting more products in development. This increases the chances of novel products making it to the market, and move from laboratory breakthrough to real-world protection. That means new solutions can reach national vaccination programmes more quickly, providing patient friendly vaccines to help countries respond with greater speed and coordination when outbreaks intensify.

The contracts signed will run for 98 months, covering clinical development through to market authorisation. By expanding vaccine production capacity and introducing novel treatments, this investment will help Europe and the world to be better prepared for future influenza outbreaks or pandemics.