The Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has launched a call for expression of interest for Lung Cancer experts. With this call the JRC is establishing a Working Group to develop guidelines for lung cancer primary prevention, screening and diagnosis together with requirements for lung cancer services covering the entire care pathway.

They are seeking for clinical, scientific, and technical experts in relevant topic areas , as well as from patients and/or caregivers to be appointed as members of the Working Group.

A Chair and a Vice-Chair will also be appointed as an outcome of this call.

Deadline for applications: 31 August 2025

More information on the Commission`s website

The Global Health EDCTP3 has launched a new call for expressions of interest to renew the membership of its Stakeholders’ Group. 

Following the completion of the two-year mandate of the first established group, Global Health EDCTP3 is inviting both ongoing and new member organisations to express their interest in joining the Stakeholders’ Group.

This group plays a key advisory role in the governance of the organisation, complementing the Scientific Committee and supporting the Governing Board.

Deadline for applications: 05 September 2025, 23:59 (CET).

More information on Global Health EDCTP3 website

The new European partnership OHAMR ("One Health Antimicrobial Resistance") launched on June 1, 2025. It brings together 53 organizations from 30 European and non-European countries and supports research and innovation to address the challenges of antimicrobial resistance. Its predecessor, JPIAMR ("Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance"), ended on May 31, 2025. OHAMR builds on the extensive work of JPIAMR.

OHAMR's first "Joint Transnational Call" is planned for November 2025. It will focus on providing innovative and cost-effective treatment options.

OHAMR website

The work programme of the Health Cluster with the call topics for 2026-2027 is still in the initial phase of coordination between the European Commission and the Member States. It is expected to be published by the European Commission at the end of December 2025. The Science|Business network has published a draft work programme for the Health Cluster.

Science|Business website

Please consider that these are very preliminary documents that are very likely to change significantly. There is no guarantee that the proposed topics will actually be put out to tender. It is also possible that new topics will be added.

On June 02, 2025, the European Commission launches a new strategy to make Europe a global leader in life sciences by 2030. Life sciences – the study of living systems, from cells to ecosystems – are central to our health, environment and economy. They drive innovation in medicine, food and sustainable production, adding nearly €1.5 trillion in value to the EU economy and supporting 29 million jobs across the Union.

The Strategy proposes the following actions:

1. Optimising the research and innovation ecosystem
2. Enabling rapid market access for life science innovations
3. Boosting trust, uptake and use of innovation

Further information and fact sheets can be found on the European Commission website.

The European Commission has published the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe, taking stock of the research framework programme for research and innovation that has been running since 2021.
In the interim evaluation, the European Commission presents the objectives and impacts achieved so far by the current Horizon Europe research framework programme and offers an outlook on the next steps for the further development of the framework programme.
At the halfway point of the programme in January 2025, over 15,000 projects with a total budget of more than 43 billion euros have been funded.

Interim evaluation of Horizon Europe

The European Commission published the Horizon Europe work programs for all program components, including the missions, with the calls for proposals for 2025 on May 14, 2025. They can be found on the European Commission website and on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Calls for proposals in the health field can be found, in particular, in the work programs for the Health Cluster and the Cancer Mission.

The European Commission has pre-published the Horizon Europe work programmes for all programme parts with calls for proposals for 2025. They can be found on the European Commission website.

The Health Cluster's work program is divided into three calls, which will open on the Funding and Tenders Portal on May 22, 2025. The electronic submission system and all required documents will be available there at that time.

The Cancer Mission's work program includes two separate calls for proposals. The calls will open on May 6, 2025, in the Funding and Tenders Portal.

On 20 December, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd confirmed the completion of negotiations on a broad package of agreements that aim to deepen and expand the EU-Switzerland relationship.

The broad package includes a wide range of elements:

• The update of five agreements which already give Switzerland access to the EU internal market – air transport, land transport, the free movement of persons, conformity assessment and trade in agricultural products. Bringing these agreements to a modern standard will enable citizens and businesses on both sides to fully benefit from the rights they provide and will create a level playing field for business.

EC website
Swiss website

The Commission would like to hear your views.

Feedback period:
12 December 2024 - 21 March 2025  (midnight Brussels time)

Feedback received will be published on this site and therefore must adhere to the feedback rules.

Regulations 2017/745 and 2017/746 on medical devices and in vitro diagnostics aim to ensure the availability of safe and effective devices. This should protect patient safety and public health while making the sector more competitive and supporting innovation.

The targeted evaluation will help the Commission take stock and assess whether the rules:

• are effective, efficient and proportionate
• meet current and emerging needs
• align with other actions
• have EU added value.

EU website

Ekaterina Zaharieva is the new Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation and oversees the Directorate General for Education and Research and the Joint Research Center.

The Commission President emphasizes that Ekaterina Zaharieva will play a crucial role in closing the innovation gap with the US and China by strengthening Europe's competitiveness. Research, innovation, science and technology should be placed at the heart of the economy and it should be ensured that small companies and startups in Europe can also develop in order to bring more groundbreaking technologies from the laboratory to the market.

More on EC Website

Conect4children is a pan-European network with the aim of supporting the development of new therapies for the pediatric population in Europe. The network advocates for children's health by providing strategic feasibility advice to pharmaceutical companies and academic consortia involved in pediatric drug research.

Conect4children has been building a network of experts for six years, including from the areas of methodology, clinics and patients/parents, in order to process specific inquiries from the pharmaceutical industry and academic projects. Additional clinical pediatric experts are currently being sought. Through their membership in the c4c network, the experts will contribute to strategic feasibility advice and ensure that new therapies are well suited for the pediatric population. Interested experts in pediatric drug research can submit their applications by November 8, 2024.

Conect4children Website

The European Commission has published the second report on "Performance of the European Partnerships: Biennial Monitoring Report 2024 on Partnerships in Horizon Europe" (BMR). The BMR aims to provide a solid evidence base for the implementation of partnerships and support strategic discussions on the effectiveness of partnerships within Horizon Europe. 

The BMR summarizes how European Partnerships mobilize significant co-investments and promote additional activities in support of European goals such as the Green Deal, digital transformations and resilience. European partnerships rely on increased transparency and openness to promote the participation of all relevant actors and new participants. Since the last BMR 2022, the focus has shifted from planning to implementing synergies, with several examples of collaboration between European partnerships and between them and EU missions and other EU programs. 

The full report can be found on the European Union website.

The TRANSVAC Academy of the European infrastructure project TRANSVAC2 offers researchers in the field of vaccine development various training courses to support vaccine development. 
The following training courses are offered: 

1. Vaccine Process Development and Scale-up 
2. Statistics for Preclinical Vaccine Research
3. Statistics for Vaccine Clinical Trials

The registration fee is 900 euros, but scholarships are also available. The registration deadline ends on October 21, 2024. 
Further information can be found on the TRANSVAC website.

The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) has announced its plans to trial a novel, applicant-driven approach in the next Call 9 (single-stage). Applicants can largely define their own topics, as long as they stay within the framework of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). There will be five themes corresponding to the SRIA's specific objectives.

The draft topics for the 9th call are expected to be published in mid-October 2024 and the call is expected to open in early 2025. There was an information event about the call on October 10, 2024; The recording can be found on the IHI website.

A brokerage event to find a partner will take place on November 12th and 13th, 2024 in Brussels. There will also be pitching and poster sessions to give research organizations, patient groups and companies the opportunity to present their expertise. You can pre-upload your presentation or poster on the brokerage platform until October 28, 2024. On November 14, 2024, the platform can still be used for virtual exchange and it will remain open until the submission deadline for call 9. 
Further information and the possibility to register can be found on the IHI website.