Five industry associations (COCIR, EFPIA, MedTech Europe, EuropaBio and Vaccines Europe) representing the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical technologies industries operating in Europe, together with the European Commission, have come together for the first time to work on a Strategic Agenda for Research & Innovation in Healthcare. This strategic agenda is expected to guide the next decade of public-private research & innovation in the proposed Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) framework under Horizon Europe.

This Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda aims to align with the needs, ambition, and feasibility of the European health and research communities while being complementary with other European and national initiatives.

The IHI intends to

• create an EU-wide health research and innovation ecosystem that facilitates translation of scientific knowledge into innovations
• foster the development of safe, effective, people-centric and cost-effective innovations that respond to strategic unmet public health needs currently insufficiently served by industry
• drive cross-sectoral health innovation for a globally competitive European health industry.

It will cover the entire continuum of care, from prevention, diagnostics, to treatment and disease management.

Horizon Europe offers an exciting opportunity to move towards the next stage of innovation in healthcare. It strives to improve European citizens’ health, strengthen health systems, and create a thriving health research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) environment.

Horizon Europe also introduces institutionalised Public-Private Partnerships, which offer further possibilities by creating a new and unique platform for European cross-sectoral health innovation. By pioneering and de-risking pre-competitive public-private collaboration, different sectors can work together and put Europe at the forefront of health innovation.

In 2019, around 100 different stakeholders, including academic institutions, healthcare professionals and patients, responded to a public consultation on the first draft Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. The consultation paved the way in developing a new draft agenda, jointly prepared by the prospective IHI member industry associations and the European Commission services. The IHI Governing Board will formally adopt it once the partnership legislation has been adopted and the partnership is operational.

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Download the Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda: https://www.euhealthppp.org/strategic-agenda

Visit the private partners’ website, including case studies in different disease areas: https://www.euhealthppp.org/

Visit the European Commission website on European Partnerships: http://bitly.ws/ejVW