The PIPELINE‑RSV International Trial has reached an important milestone with the first official green light for site activation at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London, United Kingdom. This marks the beginning of recruitment activities for the trial and for the UK arm of the study and represents a crucial step forward for the broader PIPELINE project.
Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Eva Galiza, the St George’s site will begin enrolling pregnant women into the international adaptive platform trial that evaluates two licensed RSV prevention options:
- the RSV maternal vaccine administered during pregnancy, and
- the RSV monoclonal antibody (Nirsevimab) administered to infants.
The UK component of the trial will explore whether combining maternal vaccination with infant monoclonal antibodies at 4 months provides stronger and longer‑lasting protection against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) than using the RSV maternal vaccine alone. RSV is a leading cause of respiratory illness in young children worldwide, with around one in fifteen infants requiring hospital care in their first year of life.
The study at St George’s will contribute to the enrolment target of 1,500 pregnant women across the UK, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, complementing the parallel PIPELINE‑RSV France study involving approximately 1,000 participants. Together, these efforts will generate the largest evidence base to date for evaluating combined RSV prevention strategies.
