Development of new effective therapies for rare diseases

Calls for proposals under this destination are directed towards the Key Strategic Orientation KSO-D ‘Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society’ of Horizon Europe’s Strategic Plan 2021-2024. Research and innovation supported under this destination should contribute to the impact area ‘Good health and high-quality accessible healthcare’ and in particular to the following expected impact, set out in the Strategic Plan for the health cluster: ‘health care providers are able to better tackle and manage diseases (infectious diseases, including poverty-related and neglected diseases, non-communicable and rare diseases) and reduce the disease burden on patients effectively thanks to better understanding and treatment of diseases, more effective and innovative health technologies, better ability and preparedness to manage epidemic outbreaks and improved patient safety’. In addition, research and innovation supported under this destination could also contribute to the following impact areas: ‘A resilient EU prepared for emerging threats’, ‘Climate change mitigation and adaptation’, and ‘High quality digital services for all’.

Communicable and non-communicable diseases cause the greatest amounts of premature death and disability in the EU and worldwide. They pose a major health, societal and economic threat and burden. Many people are still suffering from these diseases and too often dying prematurely. Non-communicable diseases, including mental illnesses and neurodegenerative diseases, are responsible for up to 80% of EU health care costs^[1]. These costs are spent on the treatment of such diseases that to a large extent are preventable. Furthermore, only around 3% of the health care budgets are currently spent on preventive measures although there is a huge potential for prevention. Infectious diseases, including infections resistant to antimicrobials, remain a major threat to public health in the EU but also to global health security. Deaths caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could exceed 10 million per year worldwide according to some predictions^[2].

To further advance, there is an urgent need for research and innovation to develop new prevention measures, public health interventions, diagnostics, vaccines, therapies, alternatives to antimicrobials, as well as to improve existing prevention strategies to create tangible impacts, taking into account sex/gender-related issues. This will require international cooperation to pool the best expertise and know-how available worldwide, to access world-class research infrastructures and to leverage critical scales of investments on priority needs through a better alignment with other funders of international cooperation in health research and innovation. The continuation of international partnerships and cooperation with international organisations is particularly needed to combat infectious diseases, to address antimicrobial resistances, to respond to major unmet medical needs for global health security, including the global burden of non-communicable diseases, and to strengthen patient safety.

In this work programme, destination 3 will focus on major societal challenges linked to the Commission’s political priorities such as the fight against cancer and other non-communicable diseases, better diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases, preparedness and response to and surveillance of health threats and epidemics, reduction of the number of antimicrobial-resistant infections, improving vaccination rates, demographic change, mental health and digital empowerment in health literacy. In particular, the topics under this destination will support activities aiming at: i) better understanding of diseases, their drivers and consequences, including pain and the causative links between health determinants and diseases, and better evidence-base for policy-making; ii) better methodologies and diagnostics that allow timely and accurate diagnosis, identification of personalised treatment options and assessment of health outcomes, including for patients with a rare disease; iii) development and validation of effective intervention for better surveillance, prevention, detection, treatment and crisis management of infectious disease threats; iv) innovative health technologies developed and tested in clinical practice, including personalised medicine approaches and use of digital tools to optimise clinical workflows; v) new and advanced therapies for non-communicable diseases, including rare diseases developed in particular for those without approved options, supported by strategies to make them affordable for the public payer; and vi) scientific evidence for improved/tailored policies and legal frameworks and to inform major policy initiatives at global level (e.g. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; UNEA Pollution Implementation Plan).

In view of increasing the impact of EU investments under Horizon Europe, the European Commission welcomes and supports cooperation between EU-funded projects to enable cross-fertilisation and other synergies. This could range from networking to joint activities such as the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Opportunities for potential synergies exist between projects funded under the same topic but also between other projects funded under another topic, cluster or pillar of Horizon Europe (but also with ongoing projects funded under Horizon 2020). In particular, this could involve projects related to European health research infrastructures (under pillar I of Horizon Europe), the EIC strategic challenges on health and EIT-KIC Health (under pillar III of Horizon Europe), or in areas cutting across the health and other clusters (under pillar II of Horizon Europe). For instance, with cluster 3 “Civil security for society” such as on health security/emergencies (preparedness and response, medical counter measures, epidemic outbreaks/pandemics, natural disasters and technological incidents, bioterrorism); with cluster 4 “Digital, Industry and Space” such as on decision-support systems or on geo-observation and monitoring (e.g. of disease vectors, epidemics); or with cluster 6 “Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment” such as on health security and AMR (one-health: human/animal/plant/soil/water health).

Some research and innovation actions under Destination 3 should deliver relevant complementary inputs to the announced “Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan”^[3], contributing to actions covering the entire cancer care pathway, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, cancer data monitoring, as well as quality of life of cancer patients and survivors. Furthermore, synergies and complementarities will be sought between Destination 3 and the implementation of the EU4Health Programme (2021-2027)^[4]. These synergies and complementarities could be achieved, notably through mechanisms based on feedback loops, enabling on the one hand to identify policy needs that should be prioritised in research and innovation actions and facilitating on the other hand the implementation of research results into policy actions and clinical practice, thereby providing an integrated response across sectors and policy fields.

Expected impacts:

Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to tackling diseases and reducing disease burden, and more specifically to several of the following impacts:

• Health burden of diseases in the EU and worldwide is reduced through effective disease management, including through the development and integration of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, personalised medicine approaches, digital and other people-centred solutions for health care. In particular, patients are diagnosed early and accurately and receive effective, cost-efficient and affordable treatment, including patients with a rare disease, due to effective translation of research results into new diagnostic tools and therapies.
• Premature mortality from non-communicable diseases is reduced by one third (by 2030), mental health and well-being is promoted, and the voluntary targets of the WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2020 are attained (by 2025), with an immediate impact on the related disease burden (DALYs)^[5],[6],[7].
• Health care systems benefit from strengthened research and innovation expertise, human capacities and know-how for combatting communicable and non-communicable diseases, including through international cooperation. In particular, they are better prepared to respond rapidly and effectively to health emergencies and are able to prevent and manage communicable diseases transmissions epidemics, including within healthcare settings.
• Citizens benefit from reduced (cross-border) health threat of epidemics and AMR pathogens, in the EU and worldwide^[8],[9]. In particular, the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases are contained and hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases are being combated^[10].
• Patients and citizens are knowledgeable of disease threats, involved and empowered to make and shape decisions for their health, and better adhere to knowledge-based disease management strategies and policies (especially for controlling outbreaks and emergencies).

The EU benefits from high visibility, leadership and standing in international fora on global health and global health security, especially in partnership with Africa.

[1] Currently, around 50 million people in the EU are estimated to suffer from two or more chronic conditions, and most of these people are over 65. Every day, 22 500 people die in Europe from those diseases, counting of 87% of all deaths. They account for 550 000 premature deaths of people of working age with an estimated €115 billion economic loss per year (0.8% of GDP).

[2] AMR is estimated to be responsible for 25 000 deaths per year in the EU alone and 700 000 deaths per year globally. It has been estimated that AMR might cause more deaths than cancer by 2050.

[3] https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12154-Europe-s-Beating-Cancer-Plan

[4] https://ec.europa.eu/health/funding/eu4health_en

[5] WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2020 (resolution WHA66.10), https://www.who.int/nmh/events/ncd_action_plan/en.

[6] ^{Including for instance the following voluntary targets (against the 2010 baseline): A 25% relative reduction in the overall mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory diseases; Halt the rise in diabetes and obesity; An 80% availability of the affordable basic technologies and essential medicines, including generics, required to treat major non-communicable diseases in both public and private facilities.}

[7] ^{Disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is a quantitative indicator of overall disease burden, expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death.}

[8] WHO global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, 2015.

[9] ^{EU One Health Action Plan against AMR, 2017.}

[10] Target 3.3 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, 2015.

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