IHI call 9 – piloting a novel, applicant driven approach
While previous IHI calls for proposals set out the challenges to be addressed, IHI call 9 invites applicants to identify opportunities in the IHI Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and turn them into proposals for IHI projects. In addition to being aligned with the SRIA, proposals will need to adhere to the broader philosophy of IHI. In practice, this means that they will have to address an unmet public health need; require a large-scale, ambitious, cross-sector public-private partnership to succeed; and have clearly described impacts on society, the economy and science. They should also take account of the pre-competitive nature of IHI.
IHI Executive Director Niklas Blomberg said: “With IHI call 9, we are really pioneering a novel, more open way of identifying high-impact projects. We expect that this applicant-led approach will deliver transformative projects exploring areas of health research that we haven't looked at so far, and bring in organisations that are not yet part of our community.”
The IHI will invest EUR 191 million in call 9; this comes from Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme. IHI is a public-private partnership and the public investment will be matched by contributions from Europe’s health industries. As call 9 is a single-stage call for proposals, applicants will have to identify the right industry partners and ensure that half of their project’s costs are covered by in-kind contributions from IHI’s industry members and (if relevant) IHI contributing partners.
IHI call 10 - topics on PFAS, health data, and digital labels
At the same time, IHI is launching IHI call 10, a two-stage call for proposals with three topics:
Cutting PFAS in the health sector
PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic chemicals which play a key role in ensuring the quality and safety of a wide range of healthcare products, from medicines and medical devices right through to packaging and cleaning agents. They are also hard to break down and so build up when released into the environment. Concerns about the impacts of PFAS on both human health and the environment mean there is now wide recognition of the need to limit their use. The overall aim of this topic is to minimise exposure to and the emission of PFAS in the healthcare sector, while maintaining the quality and safety of products affected. It will do this by investigating alternatives to PFAS where viable. Where the replacement of PFAS is not possible, the topic will explore how the use of PFAS (and their release into the environment) can be minimised.
Making the European Health Data Space (EHDS) a reality
The EHDS is an initiative which aims to unlock the potential of the safe and secure exchange, use and re-use of health data in the EU. The aim of this topic is to deliver frameworks, recommendations and other tools to support the implementation of the EHDS when it comes to the re-use of data for research purposes. The project outputs will ultimately help to build trust among stakeholders and create a secure, collaborative, and innovative ecosystem that optimises data use and facilitates advances in research, while protecting intellectual property.
Digital labels for medical devices
While many medical devices are shrinking, the list of information that has to be included on the printed label is growing. As a result, users (such as patients and healthcare professionals) often struggle to find and read the information they need. What’s more, updates to just one element of a leaflet require the whole thing to be reprinted. The aim of this topic is to establish a digital label concept applicable to all types and classes of medical devices and in vitro devices. Users would be able to access the digital label by scanning a QR code with a smartphone, for example. This would make it easier for users to access up-to-date, targeted information in the language of their choice. Reducing the size of the printed label would also make the delivery of the product information much greener.
The total budget for three topics under IHI call 10 is just under EUR 70 million; half of this comes from the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, and half comes from the IHI industry members as well as contributing partners.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Press contact
Catherine Brett – External Relations Manager
Tel: +32 2 541 8214 | E-mail: press@ihi.europa.eu
About IHI
The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) aims to translate health research and innovation into real benefits for patients and society, and ensure that Europe remains at the cutting edge of interdisciplinary, sustainable, patient-centric health research. Health research and care increasingly involve diverse sectors. By supporting projects that bring these sectors together, IHI will pave the way for a more integrated approach to health care, covering prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and disease management.
IHI is a partnership between the European Union and European industry associations representing the pharmaceutical, medical technology, biotechnology, digital health and vaccine industries, namely COCIR, EFPIA, EuropaBio, MedTech Europe and Vaccines Europe. IHI’s total budget is EUR 2.4 billion. Half of this comes from Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme. The IHI industry partners have committed EUR 1 billion to IHI, and a further EUR 200 million can be committed by other organisations that decide to become Contributing Partners.
IHI builds on the successes of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), and the IHI Programme Office continues to manage the IMI project portfolio.
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