Could future vaccination programs provide broader protection with fewer individual shots? That question will be part of the discussion at World Vaccine Congress Europe 2026, where combination vaccines, cancer immunotherapy and new delivery technologies feature across the scientific program.
World Vaccine Congress Europe will take place from October 19 to 21 at the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam, with workshops on the opening day followed by the main conference and exhibition on October 20 and 21.
The 2026 program spans vaccine research, clinical development, manufacturing, supply, infectious diseases and immunotherapy. Among the headline sessions is a keynote panel titled One Shot, Many Frontiers: Combination Vaccines for a Healthier Lifetime.
Why combine vaccines?
Combination vaccines are designed to provide protection against more than one disease, or multiple targets, through a single vaccination schedule.
The subject is already familiar in childhood immunization, but the 2026 congress will examine how broader combination approaches could develop across different stages of life. The program also includes discussions covering maternal, pediatric and older populations, as well as next-generation platforms intended to provide broader protection.
For healthcare systems, the appeal is straightforward: fewer separate vaccinations could potentially simplify schedules and delivery. However, combining targets also creates scientific and manufacturing challenges around formulation, immune response, testing and regulatory approval.
The congress will examine these issues as part of wider discussions on vaccine development and delivery.
Cancer vaccines move into a dedicated track
Cancer research will also have a substantial presence through the event’s Cancer & Immunotherapy program.
Sessions will cover cancer vaccines, early-stage research, clinical data, new formulations, delivery methods and combinations with other immunotherapies. Personalized immunotherapy is also included in the track.
The term “cancer vaccine” can describe different approaches. Some vaccines are designed to prevent infections linked to certain cancers, while therapeutic cancer vaccines are being investigated as treatments intended to help the immune system recognize or respond to cancer cells.
The technologies discussed at the congress should therefore not be interpreted as established treatments simply because they appear on the program. Many remain in research or clinical development.
Vaccine development goes beyond the injection itself
The wider agenda also shows how vaccine innovation increasingly involves more than the biological product.
World Vaccine Congress Europe includes dedicated tracks for supply and logistics, vaccine delivery, bioprocessing and manufacturing, immune profiling, clinical trials and technology showcases. The organizer specifically highlights technologies related to synthetic biology, self-amplifying RNA, new delivery systems and automated bioprocessing.
Supply is another part of the discussion. Sessions will examine how vaccines can reach patients through increasingly complex distribution networks, including the technologies required for last-mile delivery.
A separate keynote will look at global vaccine manufacturing and how international production networks are changing, while another will explore the One Health approach linking human, animal and environmental health.
The overall program reflects a vaccine industry looking beyond the development of individual products toward broader questions about how protection can be combined, personalized, manufactured and delivered.
World Vaccine Congress Europe 2026 will take place from October 19 to 21 at RAI Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The current event site lists more than 2,000 attendees, 280 speakers and over 150 exhibitors.
