On 11 December 2013, the European Commission launched the first calls for proposals for Horizon 2020. VPH plays a role in many of the calls, find out which ones!
In the text of the new call for proposal, in silico medicine is mentioned twice in relation to vaccine development/toxicity and there are multiple references in several calls to tackling comorbidities through advances in system medicine, computer modeling for improved diagnosis and references to diagnostic and imaging tools for advanced medicines.
Calls of relevance for VPH in the area of health, demographic change and well-being:
1. PHC 1 - 2014: Understanding health, ageing and disease: determinants, risk factors and pathways
• Indicated budget: EUR 330,000,000
• Deadline: 11 March 2014
• Scope:EITHER:
i. The identification of health trends and determinants, their validation, and the validation of risk factors for disease and disability, through the generation, integration and validation of data derived from relevant disciplines (e.g. molecular, behavioural, nutritional, clinical, social and environmental epidemiology; exposure sciences; genetics, epigenetics, etc.). This should involve the exploitation of existing cohorts and longitudinal studies and the assessment of the necessity to establish new ones, as well as where relevant, the valorisation of knowledge gained from population-based bio-banks.
OR:
ii. The identification of determinants and pathways characteristic of healthy and active ageing (from early stages of development onwards) and of health deterioration caused by time, disease accumulation and the abovementioned risk factors and their interactions.
In both cases, sex and gender differences should be taken into account.
The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 4 and 6 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
• Expected impact:
In both cases, proposals should provide a better understanding of the combined effects of factors causing health and disease, with the knowledge generated underpinning the future development of evidence based prevention, diagnostic, therapeutic and other strategies.
The link to the call is available here
2. PHC 2 - 2015: Understanding diseases: systems medicine
• Indicated budget: EUR 330,000,000
• Deadline: 14 October 2014(stage 1) and 24 January 2015(stage 2)
• Scope:
- Proposals should focus on new avenues for understanding the complexity of clinical phenotypes in multifactorial diseases and/or their co-morbidities. This will entail the development/optimisation and/or application of systems medicine approaches, and integration of biomedical and clinical data to produce or refine disease models using advanced statistical, computational and mathematical approaches.
The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 4 and 6 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately.
• Expected impact:
- Leverage of existing investments in Europe in the field of systems biomedicine.
- New directions for better disease detection, prognosis and therapy development.
- Systems medicine tools and approaches tailored for medical research and/or the clinic, which represent an improvement over established practice.
The link to the call is available here
3. PHC 6 - 2014 Evaluating existing screening and prevention
• Indicated budget: EUR 303,000,000
• Deadline: 11 March 2014
• Scope: Proposals should assess existing screening and disease prevention strategies and programmes, on the basis of health outcomes, quality-of-life, equity and cost-effectiveness and ethical considerations, at the level of the individual or stratified population groups and across Europe. The gender dimension should be taken into account where relevant.
Comparison between different countries and regions, demographic groups and cultures should be made in order to identify specific contextual links as well as to identify opportunities for exchange of knowledge and experience between countries and regions.
Proposals should include the development of new methods or the adaptation of existing ones for this type of assessment. These methods and tools (including self-assessment tools) should be applied in different health systems and organisational infrastructures to test their applicability in different political, economic and societal contexts.
Due attention should be paid from the outset to the further development and dissemination of methodological expertise, including capacity building across Europe, in order that the expertise generated is fully exploited.
The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 2 and 3 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
• Expected impact
- Evidence for the increased use, or discontinuation of, existing screening and prevention programmes allowing informed decisions by policymakers
- Capacity building in the assessment of such screening and prevention programmes
- Improved health outcomes, greater health equity and cost effectiveness based on the implementation of effective screening and prevention programmes.
The link to the call is available here
4. PHC 8 - 2014: Vaccine development for poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases: Tuberculosis
• Indicated budget: EUR 185,200,000
• Deadline: 15 April 2015
• Scope: Proposals should focus on strengthening the capacity for discovery and early development of new vaccine candidates for tuberculosis by addressing all of the following inter-related elements:
- Establishment of a platform for the identification of several new diverse and novel vaccine candidates for tuberculosis, and their pre-clinical and early clinical testing.
- The major bottlenecks in vaccine development will be addressed; in particular better ways for early distinction between successful candidates and those that will eventually fail in late stage clinical trials. Proposals should therefore address areas such as in vitro and in silico testing, predictive animal models, predictive correlates of protection, phase 0 trials, first in man trials and innovative risk prediction methods, taking into account potential sex-specific differences.
- The successful proposal shall be part of the Global TB Vaccine Partnership and continue its vaccine development in the context of this initiative in collaboration with the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), and a pathway and commitment towards this must form an integral part of the proposal.
- The proposals will also address the barriers and possible facilitators regarding the uptake and implementation of a new vaccine in low, middle and high income countries in different regions of the world.
• Expected impact
- Reduction in the cost associated with late stage vaccine failure, increasing the number of other candidates which can be tested with the same resources, thus increasing the chance of discovery of an effective vaccine.
- Contribution to the implementation of the Global TB Vaccine Partnership for the development of tuberculosis vaccines and, (currently under development in collaboration with European Investment Bank and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) including the establishment of close links with the EDCTP.
The link to this call is available here
5. PHC 9 - 2015: Vaccine development for poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases – HIV/AIDS
• Budget: EUR 162,000,000
• Deadline: 21 April 2015
• Scope: Proposals should focus on strengthening the capacity for discovery and early development of new vaccine candidates for HIV/AIDS by addressing all of the following inter-related elements:
- Establishment of a platform for the discovery and selection of several new diverse and novel preventive or therapeutic vaccine candidates for HIV/AIDS, and support to their pre-clinical and early clinical testing.
- The major bottlenecks in vaccine development should be addressed; in particular better ways for early distinction between successful candidates and those that will eventually fail in late stage clinical trials. Proposals should therefore pool expertise in the areas of in vitro and in silico testing, predictive animal models, predictive correlates of protection, phase 0 trials, first in man trials and innovative risk prediction methods, taking into account sex-specific differences.
- The successful proposal shall continue its vaccine development in the context of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), and a pathway and commitment towards this direction must form an integral part of the proposal.
- International cooperation is encouraged. The proposals will also address the barriers and possible facilitators regarding the uptake and implementation of a new vaccine in low, middle and high income countries in different regions of the world.
• Expected impact
- Reduction in the cost associated with late stage preventive or therapeutic vaccine failure, increasing the number of other candidates which can be tested with the same resources, thus increasing the chance of discovery of an effective vaccine
- Establishment of close links with the EDCTP, for the further clinical development of the vaccine candidates identified in the present initiative.
The link to this call is available here
6. PHC 10 - 2014: Development of new diagnostic tools and technologies: in vitro devices, assays and platforms
• Indicated budget: EUR 303,000,000
• Deadline: 03 November 2014 (stage 1) and 19 August 2014 (stage 2)
• Scope: The development of new and more robust diagnostics, as improved clinical practice demands the translation of scientific and technological knowledge form multiple fields into clinical applications. These tools should improve the performance of diagnosis, prediction, monitoring, and assessment of therapeutic response.
• Expected impact
- Contribution to the sustainability of health care systems.
- Improvements in earlier disease diagnosis and patient stratification through the use of more reliable and cost effective in vitro diagnostic tools.
- Growth of the European diagnostics sector.
The link to this call is available here
7. PHC 11 - 2015: Development of new diagnostic tools and technologies: in vivo medical imaging technologies
• Indicated budget: EUR 330,000,000
• Deadline: 14 October 2014(stage 1) 24 February 2014(stage 2)
• Scope:
- Proposals should focus on the development of innovative in vivo imaging tools and technologies. Tools and technology should aim at improving diagnosis, prediction, monitoring, image-based intervention or assessment of therapeutic response, with a significant impact on clinical decisions and health outcomes.
- Proposals should focus on innovations that offer a clear advantage over existing tools and technologies. Development of in vivo medical imaging technologies should make use of existing high-tech engineering or physics solutions or innovative ideas and concepts coming from those fields and if appropriate, new developments in the field of imaging agents.
• Expected impact
- New in vivo diagnostic tools and methods providing more accurate, less invasive, more reliable and earlier disease diagnosis, prediction or response to therapy, leading to improved clinical decisions and outcomes.
- Contribution to the sustainability of health care systems.
The link to this call is available here
8. PHC 16 - 2015: Tools and technologies for advanced therapies
• Indicated budget: EUR 330,000,000
• Deadline: 14 October 2014(stage 1) and 24 February 2015(stage 2)
• Scope: The term advanced therapies encompasses gene therapy, cell therapy, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and bio-artificial organs. These are biological approaches to therapy which often share common technologies. Proposals should focus on refining a particular technological step or component needed by the therapeutic approach. Establishing proof-of-concept for the new technology and carrying out preclinical research may be included if needed. Regulatory aspects of the new technology should be addressed as appropriate.
• Expected impact
- Development of tools and technologies enabling establishment of new therapies or patient interventions.
- Supporting regulatory compliant new technologies.
- Boost the growth and the competitiveness of the European medical technology sector.
- Combine new technology developments from different sectors for better, safer and customer friendly products.
- Increase the attractiveness of Europe as a hub for innovative medical technologies.
The link to this call is available here.
9. PHC 30 - 2015: Digital representation of health data to improve disease diagnosis and treatment
• Indicated budget: EUR 163,000,000
• Deadline: 21 April 2014
• Scope
- Proposals should focus on new decision support systems (DSS) based on a complex integration of heterogeneous data sources and subject-specific computer models. This should enable an integrated data analysis, and should present a highly visual data representation, using user-friendly interactive exploratory interfaces in order to assure usability and acceptability.
- Proposals should enable the use of DSS by healthcare professionals for personalised prediction and decision in prevention, diagnosis or treatment and should take into account data protection.
- The models should be already available, multi-level and multi-scale and will be integrated with the individual and population data relevant for the targeted clinical situations and will be linked when relevant with computer models of personalised physiology, functional disorders and other diseases.
- The proposed systems should take advantage of the personal medical data accumulated over time.
- Proposals should include the standardisation of data formats.
- The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 3 and 5 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately.
• Expected impact
- Improved coherent use of health data available for a subject in conjunction with the existing medical knowledge in clinical decision making.
- Design of predictive and therapeutic interventions
- Better management of complex clinical situations.
- Enabling use of the same information by different medical services and the other relevant healthcare professionals.
- Better control and inter-service coordination in the management of the patient health.
- Providing a consistent view of a patient's care needs.
The link for this call is available here.
10. PHC 32 - 2014: Advancing bioinformatics to meet biomedical and clinical needs
• Indicated budget: EUR 303,000
• Deadline: 11 March 2014(stage 1) 19 August 2014(stage 2)
• Scope:
- Proposals should ensure that bioinformatics capabilities are not only made adequate for the current data challenge but are also able to meet future biomedical and clinical needs.
- Proposals should focus on the development of new mathematical, statistical and computational methods, to address specific bottlenecks in bioinformatics that hold back better understanding, integration and use of biomedical and clinical research data.
- The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 2 and 3 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately.
• Expected impact:
- Accelerate the translation of the results into clinical research.
- Widespread dissemination of the new bioinformatics methods to maximise the accessibility and utility of biomedical data in research and medicine.
- Increased commercial products in bioinformatics (e.g. data services).
- Increased research & innovation opportunities in this SME-intensive field.
- Building on European excellence to make the EU a location of choice for advanced bioinformatics research.
The link to this call is available here
11. PHC 33 - 2015: New approaches to improve predictive human safety testing
• Indicated budget : EUR 330, 000,000
• Deadline : 14 October 2014(stage 1) and 24 February 2015
• Scope:
- Proposals should capitalise on advances in all relevant fields of science to understand complex biological pathways of toxicological relevance and to identify early markers predictive of toxicological effects in humans with the objectives of developing and validating routine, non-animal approaches for toxicity testing of chemical substances (excluding radio-chemicals).
- Proposals should involve, amongst others, the research communities, SMEs, industry and regulatory agencies as appropriate, and should demonstrate efficient mechanisms for the co-ordination of activities and exchange of information.
- The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 10 and 15 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately.
• Expected impact:
- More effective, faster, cheaper toxicological testing to better predict human risk and meet regulatory needs.
- Improved toxicological knowledge to encourage ‘read across’ between chemical substances for use in different research and regulatory domains.
- Commercial exploitation of the developed toxicological testing methods and assessment approaches, products and services.
- Advancement of international co-operation in the field of predictive toxicology and human safety testing.
- Reduced use of laboratory animals in safety testing.
The link to this call is available here
Calls of relevance for VPH in the area of Future and Emerging Technologies: FET-Flagships - tackling grand interdisciplinary science and technology challenges
1. FETFLAG 3 - 2015: Human Brain Project FET Flagship Core Project
• Indicated budget: EUR1, 600,000
• Deadline: 24 April 2014
• Scope: The objective is to support the implementation of the Human Brain Project (HBP) FET Flagship through a project in the context of the Framework Partnership Agreement. HBP aims to simulate and better understand the Human Brain through combining all existing knowledge about the human brain and reconstructing it in supercomputer-based models.
• Expected impact:
- The development of new diagnostic tools and treatments for brain diseases
- Contribution to the strategic goal of the HBP FET Flagship and the realisation of its research roadmap.
- Transformational impact on science and technology and substantial benefits for the European economy and society in the area of neuroscience, brain medicine and neuromorphic computing.
- European leadership in the area of neuroscience, brain medicine and neuromorphic computing.
The link to the call is available here
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