The id.DRIVE consortium is proud to announce the expansion of its observational infectious diseases research platform to Canada, marking a major milestone in the study network’s international growth.
In 2024, consortium partners agreed to assess the feasibility of extending id.DRIVE’s observational studies beyond Europe. This strategic decision responds to the growing demand for increased geographical representativeness of Real-World Evidence (RWE), enabling broader applicability and regulatory relevance of the data generated in the id.DRIVE studies.
First step of id.DRIVE’s expansion outside Europe
Over the past six months, id.DRIVE has actively explored potential hospital sites in four Canadian provinces. Canada has approved RSV vaccines for older adults and the deployment of RSV prevention programmes in several provinces during the 2025–2026 season.
Following a thorough evaluation process, two networks with six hospitals in Ontario and one network with four hospitals in Alberta were selected to join the id.DRIVE study network and to contribute to high-quality vaccine effectiveness research:
- The Toronto Invasive Bacterial Diseases Network (TIBDN), coordinated by Mount Sinai Hospital.
- The Ottawa Hospital.
- Calgary Zone Adults hospitals, coordinated by the Alberta Health Services with the support of W21C, a healthcare systems research and innovation initiative based in the University of Calgary’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health.
These sites bring extensive experience in observational studies, access to high-quality laboratory infrastructures, and robust vaccine exposure data from multiple sources, ensuring alignment with id.DRIVE’s regulatory-grade standards.