Bold vision needed to translate basic health research in to new ways of delivering healthcare and new treatments for patients
19.03.19
Scientific communities from industry and academia through the Biomedical Alliance in Europe (BioMed Alliance) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) have teamed up to address the gaps within the translational research ecosystem and call for more focus and funding for translational research and pan European mechanisms for coordination and implementation.
The role of translational research cannot be underestimated – it follows up and evaluates fundamental scientific discoveries, for their therapeutic potential, translates ideas into clinical application and turns them into standardised processes that can be industrialised and upscaled so that the resulting products and services can, such as novel drugs, transform the lives of patients.
This type of research is costly and risky involving many steps of collaboration among all stakeholders. Funding activities are scarce and instruments aiming to strengthen the various steps in the process of the translational research ecosystem are often fragmented and lack tangible follow through the full medicine’s lifecycle.
Therefore, scientific communities from both organisations call upon EU policymakers to work together with the research community, industry and patient representatives to ensure that these directions are implemented in inter-sector collaborations to progress synergies within and across projects and initiatives. This ensures that outstanding basic research leads to the necessary translational impact in the real-world setting and has an impact on patients’ lives.
BioMed Alliance and EFPIA propose to tackle some of the existing discrepancies in the research ecosystem by:
BioMed Alliance and EFPIA propose to tackle some of the existing discrepancies in the research ecosystem by:
- Increasing visibility on the role and needs of translational research to better inform policy-makers, academia, patients and the general public.
- Improving collaboration among all actors from the translational research value chain, including patients, scientists, clinicians, physicians, regulators, industry and addressing the current gaps in the innovation cycle by promoting a more effective use of existing and future funding tools to support translational research such as the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI 2) and the next public private partnership under Horizon Europe, respectively, while taking advice and recommendations on board from diverse stakeholders.
- Facilitating translational research strategic planning to optimise outcomes and enable progress is much needed under Horizon Europe. Science-led mechanisms should be established to build on synergies between health research programmes, break down the silo approaches in the innovation cycle and boost the visibility and effectiveness of European health research.
BioMed Alliance and EFPIA commit to play active roles in driving the agenda of translational research to bridge the gaps between basic and translational health research through the medicine’s life cycle.
ABOUT US
BioMed Alliance
BioMed Alliance
The Biomedical Alliance in Europe (BioMed Alliance) is the result of a unique initiative of 30 leading European medical societies that together include more than 400,000 researchers and health professionals. The BioMed Alliance was created in 2010 to gather strength across different disciplines and areas in biomedical and health research at European level. It presents the views of its members in a cohesive and comprehensible form to policymakers, professionals and the public at large. www.biomedeurope.org
EFPIA
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) represents the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Through its direct membership of 36 national associations and 40 leading pharmaceutical companies, EFPIA's mission is to create a collaborative environment that enables our members to innovate, discover, develop and deliver new therapies and vaccines for people across Europe, as well as contribute to the European economy. Our vision is for a healthier future for Europe. A future based on prevention, innovation, access to new treatments and better outcomes for patients. www.efpia.eu
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) represents the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Through its direct membership of 36 national associations and 40 leading pharmaceutical companies, EFPIA's mission is to create a collaborative environment that enables our members to innovate, discover, develop and deliver new therapies and vaccines for people across Europe, as well as contribute to the European economy. Our vision is for a healthier future for Europe. A future based on prevention, innovation, access to new treatments and better outcomes for patients. www.efpia.eu