About company
INFECTA is an impact-driven clinical research organization focused on accelerating the development of infectious disease products through early-phase clinical testing.
Founded in 2024, INFECTA emerged from the longstanding collaboration between Leiden University Center for Infectious Diseases and the Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR). This allows us to leverage nearly four decades of experience in early-phase clinical trials. INFECTA combines regulatory knowledge with operational expertise rooted in academic rigor.
Our approach centers on efficient clinical trials using smart study design, with Controlled Human Infection Models (CHIMs) integrated whenever suitable. This enables us to collect early-phase clinical data on effectiveness, safety, and immune response in a controlled environment, generating results faster and with fewer participants than traditional field trials.
By improving how infectious disease products are evaluated we not only save years of development time and reduce costs, but also work to bring better treatments and vaccines to market more affordably, supporting broader global access to essential interventions.
INFECTA was founded by Prof. Dr. Meta Roestenberg and Dr. Ingrid de Visser-Kamerling, two experienced leaders who share a commitment to advancing global health through infectious disease research.
Meta brings substantial experience as a physician and professor specializing in Controlled Human Infection Models (CHIMs) for vaccine development, with strong roots in academic research. Ingrid contributes extensive clinical pharmacology expertise, bringing solid operational knowledge to the organization. Together, they focus on maximizing safety and scientific output through collaborative teamwork, innovating where beneficial while standardizing where necessary.
They lead a multidisciplinary team of specialists from industry, academia, and operational backgrounds, all working toward practical solutions in infectious disease product development.
INFECTA accelerates the development of life-saving infectious disease treatments and vaccines through innovative early-phase clinical research.
By combining rigorous academic expertise and regulatory knowledge, including expertise in Controlled Human Infection Models, we generate high-quality data that significantly shortens development timelines and reduces costs.
Our approach enables faster, more efficient pathways from laboratory discovery to patient access.
We envision a world where effective infectious disease interventions reach patients faster, safer, and more affordably.
We aim to transform how vaccines and treatments are developed, ensuring that breakthrough therapies reach those who need them most.
Our work contributes to a more equitable global health landscape where geography and economics no longer determine access to life-saving medical intervention.
INFECTA works to ensure vaccines and treatments reach people worldwide more affordably, demonstrating our commitment to global health.
By connecting with our ecosystem, we also showcase our impact in the Dutch Life Science sector, boosting collaboration among both private and academic organizations.
INFECTA combines rigorous academic research standards with practical market knowledge.
Through our position within the InFECT-NL ecosystem, we leverage a comprehensive network of expertise that spans both public and private sectors, ensuring we maintain the highest scientific standards while understanding real-world application needs.
Our work with CHIMs and smart study design reflect our focus on innovation to accelerate discovery. By accelerating clinical trials, we reduce the number of trial participants needed.
Similarly, our work on pandemic preparedness will ensure we have learned from the lessons provided to us by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our team
I’m dedicated to harnessing innovation to reduce costs and expand global access to infectious disease products
I’m dedicated to high quality, because advancing infectious disease research enhances global health and improves the quality of lives worldwide
I’m dedicated to fostering meaningful partnership that drives innovation and help translate advances in infectious disease research into real word health impact.
I’m dedicated to staying connected because building a resilient future requires a community. One that shares research, memes, sourdough starters, and ensures everyone has a fair chance to contribute and thrive.
I’m dedicated to staying connected because I thrive on building meaningful relationships through creativity and open-mindedness. Together, we create opportunities and forge connections that make a real impact.
I’m dedicated to transparency because sharing input and results leads to a more equitable world.
I’m dedicated to bridging the gap between strategy and execution, turning vision into action because that’s how we create real global health impact.
I’m dedicated to innovation, driving the development of affordable vaccines and treatments to ensure access to medicine for those who need it most.
I’m dedicated to high-quality work, helping to accelerate the development of products for particularly vulnerable people to combat major infectious diseases.
Ecosystem
INFECTA is fully owned by the InFECT-NL foundation, maintaining INFECTA’s not-for-profit character while being part of a broader ecosystem dedicated to infectious disease innovation.
The InFECT-NL foundation was established by a consortium of Dutch University Medical Centers (Amsterdam UMC, Radboudumc, LUMC, and UMC Utrecht) with the goal to involve all academic centers in the Netherlands, creating a collaborative platform that combines knowledge and expertise from public and private sector participants. As the national hub for infectious diseases within FAST, InFECT-NL explores novel approaches to infectious disease product development in areas where conventional market mechanisms are insufficient.
Through international partnerships with both academic and private institutions and organizations in low- and middle-income countries, we support equitable access to state-of-the-art scientific knowledge and tools, working to reduce the time between disease emergence and the availability of effective medical interventions.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed how fragile our knowledge and care infrastructure becomes when a novel pathogen appears overnight. Vaccines reached the public in roughly twelve months thanks to massive investment and expedited review, yet uncertainty persisted around real-world efficacy and safety, distribution logistics, and even the availability of first-in-human beds and appropriate biosafety facilities in the Netherlands.
The international CEPI 100-Day Mission makes the lesson bluntly clear: time saved in the earliest clinical phases saves lives. Acceleration is not a luxury; it is a societal necessity.
INFECTA exists to turn that necessity into practice:
The answer is preparation before the crisis hits: pre-agreed governance, pre-configured infrastructure, and pre-approved routes that everyone knows and trusts.
Together with InFECT-NL, we are shaping a national preparedness protocol for early-phase clinical research that brings the quadruple helix of science, industry, government, and society onto the same page before the next outbreak. Roles are defined in advance, activation pathways are rehearsed, and facilities are immediately available and scalable.
Within this framework, INFECTA maintains validated, pre-prepared protocols, including the BEREADY protocol, enabling sites, teams, data capture, and safety oversight to begin within hours, rather then weeks, without compromising on ICH-GCP, ethics, privacy, or pharmacovigilance.
