Vaccines & Immune Therapies
Home / Our therapy areas / Vaccines & Immune Therapies
Jump to section:
Our commitment
AstraZeneca has a longstanding heritage in developing vaccines and antibody therapies that have contributed to global disease prevention and the advancement of immunisation strategies.
AstraZeneca’s Vaccines & Immune Therapies (V&I) Unit is committed to reducing the global health burden of viral and bacterial infectious diseases. We are building an innovative portfolio of transformative products including antibodies and vaccines to tackle some of the leading global public health threats. Our portfolio delivers current solutions for patients while our pipeline seeks to advance the science of new modalities to prevent and treat an evolving and increasingly complex disease landscape.
Infectious Diseases Cause Significant Health and Economic Burden
Over 60 million1
Hospitalisations and ~15 million deaths2 caused by viral respiratory diseases in 2020-2021
~8 million3
Deaths are associated with serious bacterial infections in 2019
~1.3 million4
deaths globally due to chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C in 2022
Our focus areas
Through next-generation vaccines and long-acting antibodies, we aim to prevent viral respiratory diseases as a key cause of morbidity, hospitalisation and death; deliver new solutions in the fight against serious bacterial infections; and advance novel therapies to treat and cure chronic viral infections.
Viral Respiratory Diseases
Viral respiratory diseases including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), and COVID-19 cause substantial numbers of hospitalisations, deaths and strain on healthcare systems.
Explore more
Approximately 4 billion cases of viral lower respiratory tract disease were estimated to have occurred globally in a single year (2020–2021), reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time.1 These diseases continue to be a leading cause of death worldwide and place a significant burden on healthcare systems due to their severity and widespread impact.
Our current portfolio includes vaccines and antibodies that can help reduce the significant annual burden of influenza and RSV in children, older adults, those who are immunocompromised, and families, as well as the impact on society and healthcare systems.
An expanding focus on new formats, including messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), virus-like particles (VLP) and new antibody constructs, are paving the way for our next generation of approaches against these diseases.
Serious Bacterial Infections
Serious bacterial infections (SBIs) are significant and growing threats to global health.[3] SBIs are becoming harder to treat primarily because bacteria are developing resistance to antibiotics at an alarming rate, making standard treatments less effective or even ineffective and leading to increasing morbidity and mortality for patients and a substantial burden on health systems.[3]
Explore more
Our ambition is to transform care for SBIs with a portfolio of potentially best-in-class, targeted monoclonal antibodies and vaccines for prevention and treatment. With a focus first on areas of greatest need, the company is exploring novel antibody formats, vaccines constructs and delivery approaches to combat bacterial pathogens deemed the highest priority by the World Health Organization and other health agencies.
Globally, bacterial infections are responsible for approximately one in eight deaths, with over half of these fatalities attributed to just five types of bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.3
In the United States, Clostridioides difficile, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus account for a sizable proportion of the total healthcare cost associated with SBIs.5-9 By 2050, it is predicted that SBIs could lead to an additional $1 trillion in healthcare costs per year globally.10
Chronic Viral Infections
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are living with chronic viral infections like hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV, which can persist in the body, causing substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide.[11]
Explore more
Chronic viral infections have life-long consequences. Due to their ability to evade our immune system these viruses can hide inside cells and reactivate, causing persistent symptoms and eventually leading to significant medical complications including cancer.12
While vaccines exist for some viruses that cause chronic viral infections, there are still substantial numbers of infections which require functional cure or treatment. In addition, people without healthy immune systems may not be able to gain protection from immunisations for those chronic viral diseases for which a vaccine does exist.
Our R&D Approach
Our research and development strategy is focused on advancing scientific approaches to tackle the world’s top infectious disease challenges. We are advancing a robust portfolio designed to prevent or treat life-threatening infections and deliver functional cures for chronic conditions, with a special emphasis on closing gaps for vulnerable and underserved populations.
Through the development of innovative platforms such as VLP vaccines, advanced bioconjugate vaccines, half-life extended antibodies and new antibody formats such as bispecifics, we’re not only accelerating the pace of discovery but also delivering tailored immune protection against previously hard-to-target or rapidly evolving pathogens.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, including automation and computational design of protein constructs, enhance both the speed and precision of our R&D efforts. In addition, we are reimagining clinical development by leveraging digital clinical trials and real-world data to speed up recruitment, increase trial accessibility and deliver more meaningful outcomes for patients.
By combining breakthrough science, bold innovation and strategic collaboration, Vaccines & Immune Therapies is reimagining what’s possible for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, now and in the future.
Trending Articles
Our people
Our V&I team brings together scientists, clinicians, researchers, commercial experts, and healthcare professionals, all dedicated to advancing innovation and scientific excellence in vaccines and immune therapies. United by curiosity and collaboration, our people drive progress in the prevention and treatment of serious viral and bacterial infectious diseases.
The Vaccines & Immune Therapies unit is developing a diverse portfolio of vaccines and antibodies designed to help prevent and treat some of the world’s most pressing health challenges. I am inspired by the team’s commitment as we advance the science of revolutionary modalities and platforms to speed discovery and deliver tailored immune protection, with a focus on hard-to-treat or evolving pathogens and closing gaps for vulnerable and underserved populations.
Join us
Join and help us develop the next generation of vaccines and highly targeted, long-acting antibodies.
Our medicines
We cannot provide detailed information about our prescription medicines on this website, in compliance with regulations. Our medicines are approved in individual countries for specific uses and the information we provide for patients is governed by local regulations. In some cases, healthcare professionals and patients can visit local AstraZeneca websites to find out more about our medicines. Please note that in some countries we are not allowed to provide very much, or sometimes any, information on our prescription medicines so you should seek alternative trustworthy sources. Always ask a healthcare professional for advice about medicines.
Our pipeline for V&I
We are passionate about pushing the boundaries of science, developing next generation vaccines and antibodies that have the power to transform the way we prevent and treat endemic and pandemic viruses.
Phase III/LCM Projects: refers to assets that are pivotal in Phase II/III, or that have been submitted for regulatory approval, and may include assets that are now launched in one or more major markets (removed when launched in all applicable major markets).
References
- Ekaterina Maslova, et al. 304. Global Incidence of Viral Lower Respiratory Tract Disease (LRTD) Episodes and Hospitalizations (2010–2021), Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Volume 12, Issue Supplement_1, February 2025, ofae631.094, http://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofae631.094
- World Health Organization. 14.9 million excess deaths were associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Published May 5, 2022. Accessed September 18, 2025. http://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2022-14.9-million-excess-deaths-were-associated-with-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-2020-and-2021
- GBD 2019 Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators, 2022. Global mortality associated with 33 bacterial pathogens in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02185-7/fulltext
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Global Viral Hepatitis: CDC’s Worldwide Efforts. Published July 28, 2022. Accessed September 18, 2025. http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/global/index.html
- Desai K, Gupta SB, Dubberke ER, et al. Epidemiological and economic burden of Clostridium difficile in the United States: estimates from a modeling approach. BMC Infect Dis. 2016 Jun 18;16:303.
- Goeminne PC, Hernandez F, Diel R et al. The economic burden of bronchiectasis - known and unknown: a systematic review. BMC Pulm Med 2019;19:54.
- Tkacz J, Lewing B, Feliciano J, et al. Real-world treatment patterns, health care resource utilization, and costs in a US Medicare population with bronchiectasis. J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2024;30(9):967-977.
- Roberts JM, Goyal V, Kularatna S, et al. The Economic Burden of Bronchiectasis. Chest Infections. 2023;164(6):1396-1421.
- Nelson RE, Hyun D, Jezek A, et al. Mortality, Length of Stay, and Healthcare Costs Associated With Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infections Among Elderly Hospitalized Patients in the United States. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2022;74(6):1070-1080.
- World Health Organization, 2023. Antimicrobial resistance. [last accessed 2025 April 1]. Available from: http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance
- Cox AL, El-Sayed MH, Kao JH, et al. Progress towards elimination goals for viral hepatitis. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 2020;17:533-542.
- Arbuthnot P, Kew M. Hepatitis B virus and hepatocellular carcinoma. Int J Exp Pathol. 2001;82(2):77–100.
Veeva ID: Z4-78314
Date of preparation: October 2025