The European Commission announced EUR 128 million of EU funding Tuesday for 23 new research projects involving 347 research teams from 40 countries in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The 23 projects shortlisted for funding involve 347 research teams from 40 countries, including 34 participants from 16 countries outside of the EU.
The funding will enable researchers to address the pandemic and its consequences by strengthening the industrial capacity to manufacture and deploy readily available solutions, develop medical technologies and digital tools, improve understanding of behavioural and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, and to learn from large groups of patients (cohorts) across Europe. These research actions complement earlier efforts to develop diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.
The Commission is currently negotiating grant agreements with the selected beneficiaries. The new projects will cover:
- Repurposing manufacturing for rapid production of vital medical supplies and equipment needed for testing, treatment and prevention
- Developing medical technologies and digital tools to improve detection, surveillance and patients’ care
- Analysing behavioural and socio-economic impacts of the responses of government and public health systems, for instance on mental health, including gender-specific aspects in risk factors and the socioeconomic burden
- Learning from large groups of patients (cohorts) by connecting existing cohorts in the EU and beyond to assess their exposure to certain risk factors to better understand the possible causes of disease in order to improve responsiveness to the virus and future public health threats
Enhancing collaboration of existing EU and international cohorts by networking research institutions that are collecting data on patient care to enable studies into patient’s characteristics, risk factors, safety and effectiveness of treatments and potential strategies against coronavirus.
Source: EU Business
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