The draft topics for the upcoming IHI Calls for proposals 4 and 5 have been released on 7 June, ahead of the official call launch in the summer. This gives potential applicants additional time to start building a consortium and drafting a proposal.

The two calls feature a diversity of topics covering areas such as 3A and animal welfare, improved access to healthcare, equitable access to clinical research, clinical trials for rare diseases, sustainable development and manufacturing, synthetic data generation, stroke management, theranostic solutions against cancer and more (see list below).

Before the official call launch in the coming weeks, all stakeholders are invited to participate in the upcoming IHI Call days taking place from 19 to 29 June. The aim of the IHI Call Days is to provide potential applicants with the information they need to put together a strong proposal, and give them the opportunity to identify and meet partners for their consortia.

List of drafts topics:

IHI call 4 (two-stage call)

• Expanding translational knowledge in minipigs: a path to reduce and replace non-human primates in non-clinical safety assessment
• Patient-centric blood sample collection to enable decentralised clinical trials and improve access to healthcare
• Inclusive clinical studies for equitable access to clinical research in Europe
• Establishing novel approaches to improve clinical trials for rare and ultra-rare diseases 
• Safe & sustainable by design (SSbD) packaging and single use device solutions for healthcare products
• Sustainable circular development and manufacturing of healthcare products and their quantitative environmental impact assessment

IHI call 5 (single-stage call)

• Accelerating the implementation of new approach methodologies and other innovative non-animal approaches for the development, testing and production of health technologies
• Development and proof of principle of new clinical applications of theranostics solutions
• Improved prediction, detection, and treatment approaches for comprehensive stroke management
• Maximising the potential of synthetic data generation in healthcare applications

The topics are currently under consultation with the IHI States' Representatives Group and Science and Innovation Panel. They may therefore change until the call launch, and applicants should check the final, approved topic texts once the calls are launched.