Blog Post – Insights from RSVVW 2026: Advancing the Future of RSV Research

Organized by the ReSViNET Foundation, RSVVW is one of the key specialist conferences dedicated entirely to RSV, bringing together leading academic researchers, clinicians, and global health and pharmaceutical stakeholders. This year’s event welcomed more than 800 attendees – a strong indication of continued momentum in the RSV field.

We were proud to contribute to this year’s program by presenting a poster on our RSV whole genome sequencing capabilities We also returned with fresh insights from discussions and sessions that highlighted the evolving therapeutic and surveillance landscape. Explore our full insights and details on our poster presentation below.

1.  Innovation in antiviral development

One of the most prominent themes at this year’s meeting was progress in antiviral development.

A long-standing challenge in RSV treatment has been timing. Many antivirals are most effective when administered early in infection, making diagnosis and intervention speed critical. Encouragingly, new molecules currently under development are showing promising results, including improved effectiveness even when administered later in infection.

Innovation is also extending to delivery methods, with exploration of non-intravenous formats such as spray-based therapies. Alongside this, monitoring drug resistance remains an important focus area, reinforcing the growing role of molecular tools in supporting treatment strategies.

2. Vaccines, maternal immunization and public perception

While several RSV vaccines are now licensed for adult populations, protecting infants remains a key area of attention.

Discussions at RSVVW covered maternal immunization strategies, passive immunization using monoclonal antibodies, and broader considerations around vaccine implementation. Public perception and vaccine confidence, particularly in the post-COVID environment, were also explored.

One particularly insightful session presented questionnaire data from young mothers, suggesting that some may feel more comfortable receiving vaccination during pregnancy rather than having their infants vaccinated directly.

While vaccines remain central, there may be a growing shift in industry focus toward next-generation therapeutics, particularly considering vaccine hesitancy trends.

3. An expanding treatment landscape

For many years, RSV lacked approved therapeutic options. Today, the landscape is rapidly evolving. Current developments include:

• Licensed vaccines for adults
• Maternal vaccination approaches
• Monoclonal antibody options for infants
• Antivirals progressing through development.

While there is unlikely to be a single universal solution, the breadth of innovation signals meaningful progress. Importantly, many of the scientific and technological advances emerging from RSV research may also inform approaches to other viral diseases in the future.

Clinical studies demand highly reliable, well-characterized assays. At the event, we presented a poster highlighting the analytical performance of our whole genome sequencing (WGS) assays for RSV in clinical research settings, showing how this can contribute to surveillance studies.

The poster outlined:

• Analytical performance and sensitivity
• Robust validation approaches
• Experience applying sequencing technologies within clinical research.

The conclusion shows that HRSV-A/B WGS assays demonstrate robust performance and high sensitivity, suitable to be applied directly on respiratory samples for large-scale viral genomic surveillance studies, and for investigating drug resistance mutations of new antiviral therapies.

View the full poster presentation here >