STATENS SERUM INSTITUT

Their core work

Statens Serum Institut (SSI) is Denmark's national public health institute specializing in infectious disease surveillance, vaccine development, and epidemic preparedness. They operate reference laboratories, manage national biobanks, and conduct large-scale epidemiological studies across Europe. SSI contributes deep expertise in diagnostics, immunology, and disease burden assessment to multinational research consortia, and is one of the few European institutions combining vaccine R&D infrastructure with population-level public health data.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), SSI focused on specific pathogen targets — malaria vaccine antigens (OptiMalVax), RSV burden studies (RESCEU), tuberculosis vaccines (TBVAC2020), and Ebola diagnostics (EbolaMoDRAD). From 2019 onward, their work shifted markedly toward pandemic preparedness, coronavirus response, antimicrobial resistance, and population-level health platforms like exposome monitoring and vaccination impact modelling. The evolution shows a move from pathogen-specific vaccine research toward broader infectious disease preparedness and public health systems thinking.

SSI is positioning itself at the intersection of vaccine infrastructure, pandemic readiness, and AMR — expect future work in rapid-response diagnostics, next-generation vaccine platforms, and EU-wide disease surveillance networks.

How they like to work

SSI operates almost exclusively as a consortium partner (21 of 22 projects), bringing specialized public health and laboratory capabilities into large European networks rather than leading them. They coordinated only one project (TracVac, a Chlamydia vaccine trial), suggesting they prefer to contribute deep domain expertise rather than manage large consortia. With 267 unique partners across 32 countries, they are a highly connected hub — an institution that many groups want on their team for credibility and technical depth in infectious disease work.

SSI has collaborated with 267 distinct partners across 32 countries, making them one of the most broadly networked public health institutes in H2020. Their partnerships span Western and Northern Europe heavily, with strong ties to major vaccine research groups, university hospitals, and national health agencies across the continent.

What sets them apart

SSI combines the mandate of a national public health authority with the research capacity of a top-tier institute — they have direct access to Danish population health registries, national biobanks, and reference laboratory infrastructure that most academic groups cannot match. This dual role means they can validate research findings against real-world population data, making them an exceptionally valuable partner for clinical trials, vaccine efficacy studies, and epidemiological research. For consortium builders, SSI brings both scientific credibility and regulatory-grade data infrastructure.

Highlights from their portfolio

• One Health EJP
  Largest single grant (EUR 4M) — a European Joint Programme on foodborne zoonoses and AMR, reflecting SSI's national authority role in food safety and disease control.
• TracVac
  SSI's only coordinated project (EUR 2.1M) — developing a Chlamydia trachomatis vaccine through clinical trials, showcasing their vaccine development leadership.
• FAIR
  EUR 3.1M project on flagellin aerosol therapy for drug-resistant pneumonia — represents SSI's growing commitment to AMR solutions and includes a Phase I clinical trial.