Meilahti Vaccine Research Center (MeVac)
MeVac is the joint vaccine research center of HUS and University of Helsinki where we conduct research commissioned by pharmaceutical companies as well as investigator-initiated studies. We comply with Finnish and EU legislation on medical research, licensing procedures, and good clinical research practices.

Vaccines give you long-term, even lifelong immunity against infectious diseases. You get protection with far less symptoms than by getting the disease itself. Vaccination is a natural way to prevent infectious diseases and their spreading.
The national vaccination program protects the Finnish population from several severe infectious diseases. In addition, we use vaccines outside the program, for example, for tourists and special groups. With vaccine research, we develop new and better vaccines and test the suitability of those already in use to protect at-risk groups.
Participation in studies is voluntary and no financial compensation is awarded for participation. By participating, you can be involved in the development work aimed at improving our health while expanding your own vaccine protection. Vaccines are free for the research subjects.
We give vaccines as injections, nasal sprays, or orally. We are constantly developing new forms of dosing. As a participant, you will receive either a study vaccine or a placebo. The study requires you to attend 4–7 appointments. We will explain the course of the research to you in detail in advance, and your suitability for the study will be checked. Each of our studies has its own research plan approved by the Ethics Committee and the Finnish Medicines Agency, which is strictly followed.
If you are interested in participating in vaccine research or have questions about our activities, you can send an email to vaccine@hus.fi.
You can read MeVac's current and future studies (link to the studies section). If you cannot find a suitable study for yourself, you can leave us your contact information and we can contact you later. We are looking for participants who are basically healthy and persons belonging to certain patient groups. All contacts are confidential.
Read our Privacy statement.
In addition to basically healthy persons, patients from special groups in a university hospital can be examined at our vaccine research center. For some rare diseases or diseases requiring demanding treatment, we serve the whole of Finland.
Our premises are designed for clinical vaccine research; blood samples may be taken and processed as appropriate. At the moment, all but phase I studies can be conducted at our center. Several channels are commonly used for recruiting the research subjects, and among those channels we can select those which best serve each research plan. If necessary, our business enterprises and support services, such as HUS Pharmacy and HUSLAB, are also at your disposal. Clinical Research Institute HUCH is responsible for contracts and finances.
Read more about our ongoing, upcoming, and completed vaccine studies.