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I-MOVE-COVID-19 · Project

Europe-Wide COVID-19 Surveillance Network for Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation

healthTestedTRL 6Thin data (2/5)
imoveflu.org

Imagine you already have a weather station network tracking flu across Europe — now a new storm hits (COVID-19) and you quickly rewire those same stations to track it instead. That's what this project did: it took an existing 11-country influenza surveillance system and adapted it to monitor COVID-19 in primary care clinics and hospitals. By pooling patient data across borders, they could answer questions about vaccine effectiveness and treatment outcomes that no single country could figure out alone. The result is a flexible disease-tracking platform that can pivot to new threats fast.

By the numbers
33
consortium partners in the surveillance network
12
countries covered by the network
11
countries with active influenza/COVID-19 surveillance sites
29
project deliverables produced
The business problem

What needed solving

Pharmaceutical companies and health authorities need real-world data on how well COVID-19 vaccines and treatments actually work across diverse European populations — but collecting this data across multiple countries with different healthcare systems is extremely difficult. Without a coordinated surveillance network, each country generates fragmented, non-comparable results that cannot support robust conclusions about vaccine effectiveness or treatment outcomes.

The solution

What was built

The project adapted and expanded the existing I-MOVE influenza surveillance network to track COVID-19 across 11 countries, connecting primary care networks, hospitals, and national reference laboratories. It produced 29 deliverables including a multi-access-level collaboration website, shared surveillance protocols, and pooled epidemiological studies evaluating vaccines and antivirals.

Audience

Who needs this

Vaccine manufacturers needing real-world effectiveness data across European populationsPharmaceutical companies evaluating respiratory antivirals in clinical settingsNational public health institutes seeking cross-border disease surveillance toolsHealth data analytics companies looking for structured multi-country epidemiological datasetsDiagnostic companies wanting to validate respiratory pathogen tests through established clinical networks
Business applications

Who can put this to work

Pharmaceutical & Vaccines
enterprise
Target: Vaccine manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies developing respiratory treatments

If you are a vaccine manufacturer needing real-world effectiveness data for your COVID-19 or respiratory vaccine — this project built a surveillance platform across 11 countries with primary care and hospital networks that evaluated vaccines and antivirals using pooled European patient data. This kind of multi-country evidence can support your regulatory submissions and post-market surveillance obligations.

Health Technology & Diagnostics
mid-size
Target: Diagnostic companies and health data analytics firms

If you are a diagnostics company looking to validate your respiratory pathogen tests in real clinical settings — this project operated virological surveillance through national laboratory reference centres across 11 countries. Their standardized protocols and pooled results across 33 partner institutions provide a ready-made validation infrastructure for new diagnostic tools.

Public Health Services
enterprise
Target: National health agencies and epidemic preparedness organizations

If you are a public health authority that struggled with fragmented COVID-19 data collection — this project demonstrated how an existing influenza network can be rapidly adapted to a new pathogen, connecting primary care networks, hospitals, and reference laboratories across 12 countries. The surveillance platform and shared protocols are designed to be reactivated for future respiratory disease outbreaks.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to access or license this surveillance platform?

The project data does not include pricing or licensing terms. As a publicly funded RIA project coordinated by EPICONCEPT (a French SME), access terms would need to be negotiated directly. The platform builds on the existing I-MOVE influenza network, so commercial use would likely require a partnership arrangement.

Can this surveillance system scale to cover more countries or new diseases?

Yes — scalability is a core design feature. The project explicitly adapted an existing influenza network across 11 countries to cover COVID-19, demonstrating the platform can pivot to new pathogens. The consortium spans 33 partners in 12 countries, providing infrastructure for further geographic expansion.

Who owns the intellectual property and data?

As an EU-funded RIA project, IP rules follow the Horizon 2020 grant agreement. The coordinator EPICONCEPT and the 33 consortium partners retain ownership of their respective results. Based on available project data, specific licensing arrangements are not detailed in the public materials.

Does this meet regulatory requirements for vaccine effectiveness studies?

The project was designed in coordination with ECDC and WHO input, and its protocols for evaluating vaccine and antiviral effectiveness follow established epidemiological standards. The multi-country pooled analysis approach provides the kind of real-world evidence increasingly required by regulatory bodies like EMA.

How quickly was this network deployed?

The project ran from March 2020 to June 2022, with the website and collaboration tools delivered by month 3. The rapid deployment was possible because it built on the pre-existing I-MOVE influenza surveillance infrastructure rather than starting from scratch.

Can this integrate with existing hospital information systems?

The network connects primary care networks, hospitals, and national laboratory reference centres. Based on available project data, the platform uses protocol sharing and standardized data collection, though specific technical integration details with hospital IT systems are not described in the public materials.

Consortium

Who built it

The consortium is heavily research-oriented: 16 research organizations and 6 universities form the backbone, with only 2 industry partners (6% industry ratio). This is typical of a public health surveillance project — the value lies in the clinical and epidemiological data rather than in commercial technology. The coordinator EPICONCEPT is a French SME specializing in epidemiological studies, which means the commercial gateway is through a small, specialized firm rather than a large corporation. The 33-partner network spanning 12 countries (including Albania, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and the UK) gives wide geographic coverage. For a business looking to partner, the entry point is EPICONCEPT, but the real assets are the relationships with national reference laboratories and hospital networks across Europe.

How to reach the team

EPICONCEPT is a French SME specializing in epidemiological research — contact their partnerships team for collaboration inquiries

Order a report on this consortiumSee EPICONCEPT profile →
Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to connect with the I-MOVE-COVID-19 team for vaccine evaluation data or surveillance partnerships? SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction and help structure the collaboration.

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