Airway vaccines could protect against respiratory diseases, which carry a major health and economic burden worldwide. Their development is held back in part because there is no agreed way to measure mucosal immunity. AVANT-guard aims to close that gap by aligning methods and building a shared evidence base. The goal is vaccines that protect against both infection and transmission.

The network connects ten existing research consortia working on mucosal correlates of protection, with an initial focus on influenza, COVID-19, and tuberculosis. Its work centers on standardizing sampling and assays and on defining immune responses and correlates of protection. The ultimate aim is for airway immunity assessments to become an established endpoint in vaccine approval.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation initiated AVANT-guard after a workshop on mucosal airway sampling that it organized with Wellcome in September 2025. EVI coordinates the network, and the participating consortia are supported by nine funders, including CEPI, the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, the EU, and the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Participants will have access to research visit grants, early-career travel grants, and paid scientific and regulatory consultants, and findings will be made publicly available.

“A deeper understanding of airway immunity and mucosal correlates of protection is key to developing more effective vaccines, but regulatory approval also requires robust and validated measures of protection. AVANT-guard gives the field the collaborative foundation and regulatory expertise it needs to get there, and we are proud to have initiated it together with EVI and our fellow funders,” says Marianne Holm, Vice President for Infectious Diseases, Novo Nordisk Foundation.

“Through AVANT-guard, we aim to strengthen collaboration across the field, promote the harmonization of airway sampling methods and assays, and help support the generation of robust evidence to establish mucosal immune endpoints as recognized correlates of protection,” says Ali Harandi, Scientific Director, AVANT-guard, and Head of Science Strategy, EVI.