Vaccine Research Institute

What Vaccine Research Institute does

The Vaccine Research Institute (VRI) is a French public research institute (Laboratory of Excellence) established in 2011 by the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and viral hepatitis (ANRS MIE) and Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC). Headquartered at 51 Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, Créteil, France, VRI is organized as an integrated research platform with ~150 affiliated researchers, 40 active projects, and 20 academic and industrial partners. Its mission is to accelerate development of effective vaccines against HIV/AIDS and (re)-emerging infectious diseases by bridging basic immunology research, translational studies, patient associations, and socio-economic stakeholders.

VRI's core technology is a dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine platform that targets the CD40 molecule on dendritic cells, using monoclonal antibodies fused to viral antigens to induce potent antibody and T cell responses. Lead candidates include CD40.HIVRI.Env, an adjuvanted preventive HIV vaccine that demonstrated safety and sustained humoral/cellular immunogenicity in 72 healthy volunteers over 48 weeks (Phase I ANRS VRI06), and EDC.Pan.CoV (CD40.Pan.CoV), a broad-spectrum COVID-19 vaccine now in Phase I/IIa (48 participants). Additional programs cover Ebola long-term immunity (PREVAC consortium, West Africa) and a recent US NIAID-sponsored HVTN318 trial of CD40.HIVRI.Env. EnnoDC, a clinical-stage biotech spin-off, commercializes the underlying 'DC Engagers' immunotherapy platform.

VRI's business model is public-sector grant funding, not commercial revenue. It is funded primarily through ANRS MIE (an autonomous agency of Inserm) and institutional support, with strategic research partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies (e.g., Moderna via the mRNA Access program, June 2025). Clinical trial participation is volunteer-based without compensation. There is no commercial pricing model, no equity funding rounds, and no disclosed revenue. A new Biomedical Research Building connected to UPEC Faculty of Health was inaugurated June 6, 2025, expanding dedicated infrastructure for the VRI labex.

Name

Vaccine Research Institute

Legal name

Institut de recherche publique VRI

Website

https://vaccine-research-institute.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Vaccine Research Institute (VRI) is a French public Laboratory of Excellence, established in 2011 by ANRS MIE and UPEC, that develops dendritic cell-based CD40-targeted vaccines against HIV/AIDS and emerging infectious diseases, conducting preventive and therapeutic clinical trials with healthy volunteers and people living with HIV.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vaccine Research and Development

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM)

Keywords

• Vaccine research
• HIV vaccines
• Infectious disease vaccines
• Dendritic cell immunotherapy
• Clinical trials research

Headquarters

HQ city

Créteil

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: Primary funding from French government agencies including ANRS (France Recherche Nord&sud Sida-HIV Hépatites) and institutional support from ANRS MIE (Emerging Infectious Diseases). Established in 2011 as a Laboratory of Excellence by the French government.
2. Strategic Research Partnerships: Collaborative research agreements with pharmaceutical companies such as Moderna for mRNA Access program, and biotechnology companies including EnnoDC for vaccine development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Vaccine Research Institute (VRI) is a French public research institute that develops novel dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine candidates for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and (re)-emerging infectious diseases. It conducts preventive and therapeutic clinical trials, supported by shared scientific and technological platforms, and partners with academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies to advance vaccine research from bench to bedside.

Product overview

The Vaccine Research Institute (VRI) is a French research institute (Laboratory of Excellence) established in 2011 by ANRS MIE and Université Paris-Est Créteil to accelerate development of effective vaccines against HIV/AIDS and (re)-emerging infectious diseases. VRI operates research programs focused on dendritic cell-based vaccine candidates, conducting both preventive and therapeutic clinical trials. The core portfolio includes CD40.HIVRI.Env (HIV vaccine candidate) and EDC.Pan.CoV/CD40.Pan.CoV (broad-spectrum COVID-19 vaccine candidate), supported by shared scientific, technological, and administrative platforms. The institute collaborates with academic and industrial partners worldwide, conducting Phase I/II clinical trials to evaluate vaccine safety and immunogenicity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CD40.HIVRI.Env: Innovative dendritic cell-based HIV vaccine candidate targeting CD40 molecule on dendritic cells
• EDC.Pan.CoV (CD40.Pan.CoV)

Products and services

• CD40.HIVRI.Env A dendritic cell-based preventive HIV vaccine candidate consisting of monoclonal antibodies fused to the HIV envelope, specifically targeting the CD40 molecule on dendritic cells and adjuvanted with Hiltonol, inducing potent humoral and cellular immune responses.
• EDC.Pan.CoV (CD40.Pan.CoV) A broad-spectrum COVID-19 vaccine candidate acting as both an immune checkpoint activator and multivalent vaccine, composed of an anti-CD40 antibody fused to Spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) and SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, designed to induce durable immune responses against multiple variants.
• Preventive Vaccine Clinical Trials Clinical trials aimed at developing preventive vaccines against HIV and emerging infectious diseases, involving healthy volunteers, including the HVTN318 trial for the CD40.HIVRI.Env vaccine candidate.
• Therapeutic Vaccine Clinical Trials Clinical trials of therapeutic vaccines conducted on people living with HIV, evaluating the treatment potential of novel vaccine candidates.

Quantifiable outcome

• CD40.HIVRI.Env vaccine demonstrated safety and induced early and sustained humoral and cellular immune responses in 72 healthy volunteers over 48 weeks
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ModernacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2025Strategic partnership under Moderna's mRNA Access program. VRI will combine Moderna's mRNA technologies with its own dendritic cell-based vaccine approaches to design new vaccine strategies against SARS-CoV-2 and HIV. This is the 18th partnership worldwide under mRNA Access and the second in France after Institut Pasteur.
• ANRS MIE (Emerging Infectious Diseases)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011ANRS MIE, an autonomous agency of Inserm, co-established VRI as a Laboratory of Excellence and continues as a primary research partner conducting vaccine research against HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases.
• Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of VRI alongside ANRS MIE. UPEC provides the academic infrastructure including the Faculty of Health and the Biomedical Research Building inaugurated June 2025.
• EnnoDCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench clinical-stage biotechnology company spin-off from VRI developing 'DC Engagers' - a new class of immunotherapy antibodies combining immune checkpoint modulation with vaccine durability. Partner in EDC.Pan.CoV COVID-19 vaccine development.
• InsermcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench National Institute of Health and Medical Research. Founded in 1964, Inserm is a key institutional partner providing researchers and infrastructure for biomedical research from laboratory to patient bedside.
• PREVAC ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational consortium (Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccinations) comprising Inserm, NIH, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and African institutions. Co-funded by Inserm, NIAID, LSHTM, and EDCTP2 program supported by European Union.
• CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission listed as partner on VRI website.
• Idmit (Infectious Disease Models for Innovative Therapies)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDMIT is listed as a partner on VRI website, providing expertise in infectious disease models.
• Université de BordeauxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner university with over 54,000 students and expertise in vaccine research. Collaborated on CD40.HIVRI.Env and Ebola vaccine studies.
• Université de StrasbourgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner university listed on VRI website with expertise in immunology and vaccine research.
• CHUV LausanneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne, Switzerland. Clinical trial partner in the ANRS VRI06 Phase I trial evaluating CD40.HIVRI.Env vaccine in France and Switzerland.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BioNTech: mRNA vaccine leader with an active HIV vaccine program (BNT320) and COVID-19 booster franchise; comparable as a peer developing mRNA-based vaccines against the same indications VRI targets.
• Sanofi Pasteur: Major commercial vaccine developer with broad-spectrum and emerging-disease programs; comparable as a potential commercial-license acquirer of VRI-derived vaccine candidates.
• Moderna: mRNA vaccine leader and VRI's strategic partner under the mRNA Access program; comparable as a developer of mRNA-based HIV and pan-CoV vaccine candidates, but at vastly larger scale and with its own internal pipeline.
• Janssen Vaccines (Johnson & Johnson): Developer of the Ad26.ZEBOV (Zabdeno) Ebola vaccine used in the PREVAC consortium that VRI studies; comparable as a manufacturer-collaborator for VRI's Ebola immunity research.

Direct peers

• Institut Pasteur: French non-profit biomedical research institute that conducts vaccine R&D against infectious diseases and is the only other French Moderna mRNA Access partner; directly comparable to VRI in mission, governance model, and translational vaccine pipeline.
• EnnoDC: French clinical-stage biotech spin-off of VRI developing 'DC Engagers' — immunotherapy antibodies built directly on VRI's CD40-targeting dendritic cell platform; directly comparable as the commercial expression of VRI's core IP.
• International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI): Global non-profit product development partnership focused on HIV vaccine design and clinical trials (including mRNA-based candidates with Moderna); operates with the same mission and translational model as VRI's HIV vaccine program.
• Inserm (Pitié-Salpêtrière / Cochin Clinical Investigation Centers): Parent institution and co-governor of VRI; France's national biomedical research agency running parallel vaccine and immunology programs across infectious diseases with shared investigators and clinical infrastructure.

Emerging players

• HVTN / Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center: Operates the HIV Vaccine Trials Network that sponsors HVTN318 — the very trial evaluating VRI's CD40.HIVRI.Env candidate; direct counterpart as a clinical-trial sponsor and immunology research partner for VRI's lead asset.

Others

• CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations): Global health PDP financing platform that funds vaccine R&D against emerging infectious threats (Ebola, COVID-19, Disease X); comparable as a likely funding/partner counterparty for VRI's emerging-disease programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/moderna_tx
• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=fnv3Rh2fOxw
• Facebookfacebook.com/modernatx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vaccine-research-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/moderna_tx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Vaccine Research Institute