27 December is observed as International Day for Epidemic Preparedness, highlighting the crucial need to prevent, detect and effectively respond to health threats that can become epidemics.
Several projects managed by HaDEA are enhancing Europe’s resilience against potential future outbreaks, ultimately working to protect the lives and wellbeing of citizens.
EU-funded projects deepening our understanding of viruses with pandemic potential
PANDOMIC aims to strengthen pandemic preparedness at the EU level by enhancing the monitoring of microbial genomic information through cross-border collaboration. Funded under the EU4Health programme and implemented in Luxembourg and Romania, PANDOMIC is developing advanced techniques to read the complete genetic code of SARS-CoV-2, while expanding to other viruses and pathogens, such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in foodborne pathogens.
Having started in 2023 and now nearing its end date, the project has already achieved key results: the RSV genetic analysis has been added to national monitoring systems in Luxembourg, while a national bioinformatics hub has been established in Romania.
Genomic surveillance of selected infectious diseases in the Czech Republic (HERA2CZ) is a recently completed project funded under EU4Health with the objective of supporting Prague’s National Institute of Public Health in better identifying and studying the genetic makeup of pathogens affecting humans. These include viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Thanks to HERA2CZ, the Institute has successfully developed methods for reading entire genetic codes of several viruses and incorporated them into the work of national reference laboratories. This has contributed to a more robust public health system, capable of monitoring multiple disease threats and antimicrobial resistance, strengthening Czech and EU capacity for outbreak detection.
LONG COVID seeks to examine the mechanisms behind the long-term effects of a COVID-19 infection. Funded under Horizon Europe, the project is developing tools and knowledge to support physicians in accurately managing long COVID syndrome (LCS).
By combining expertise from clinical medicine, virology, metabolism and immunology, LONG COVID aims to develop and apply a machine learning and AI-powered support tool for long COVID prediction.
EU-funded projects working to accelerate the production of vaccines and medicines
RoboPharma project is developing a decentralised and agile pharmaceutical manufacturing platform to enhance the production capabilities of pharmacies across Europe. By using cutting-edge technologies such as AI-driven analytics and automated workflows, the platform aims to rapidly respond to fluctuating demand, ensuring swift, scalable and efficient production of essential medicines.
As a result, this EU4Health funded project is contributing to improving crisis preparedness while strengthening the overall EU pharmaceutical supply chain, empowering healthcare providers to respond quickly and effectively to public health emergencies.
The EU4Health SPEEDCELL project aims to accelerate the development and manufacturing of vaccines and others biological products by establishing a faster, more flexible and more efficient production platform that can address future health crises timely and effectively.
The project aims to reduce vaccine and other therapeutics production time to just 100 days achieving the so-called ‘100 days mission’ goal.
EU4Health contracts advancing preparedness against cross-border health threats
In addition to these projects, HaDEA has signed contracts under the EU4Health programme to strengthen preparedness against potential future health threats.
One contract seeks to develop a groundbreaking diagnostic device to provide antimicrobial susceptibility results on bacteria within an hour, which will help clinicians choose the appropriate treatments and therefore reduce the prescription of wide-range antibiotics and the risks associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
HaDEA is also funding a new medical device that aims to revolutionise the detection of viruses and other pathogens through an international consortium on RApid Next Generation Sequencing for Effective Medical Response (RANGER).
The partnership is working to develop a rapid point-of-care medical device that enables hospitals and other healthcare facilities to detect respiratory viruses at an early stage, contributing to making a difference between a contained local outbreak and an epidemic. Funded under the EU4Health programme, RANGER’s medical device is meant to timely detect known respiratory pathogens while monitoring unusual or new pathogens via a surveillance application, helping with early warning and pandemic preparedness.
Two other contracts will support training programmes in the field, including workshops and trainings on civil military cooperation in health security preparedness and the development of simulation exercises to test the prevention, preparedness and response capacities of the European Union for future health crises.
Background
EU4Health is the fourth and largest of the EU health programmes. The EU4Health programme goes beyond an ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis to address the resilience of European healthcare systems. The programme provides funding to national authorities, health organisations and other bodies through grants and public procurement, contributing to a healthier Europe. HaDEA manages the vast majority of the total EU4Health budget and implements the programme by managing calls for proposals and calls for tenders from 2021 to 2027.
Horizon Europe is the research and innovation programme of the EU for the period 2021-2027. The aims of Cluster 1 ‘Health’ include improving and protecting the health and well-being of citizens of all ages by generating new knowledge, developing innovative solutions and integrating where relevant a gender perspective to prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat and cure diseases. Horizon 2020 (H2020) was the EU’s multiannual funding programme between 2014 and 2020.
