PROACT EU-Response

Project information

• Full title: A European Proactive Adaptive Clinical Trials Network within EU-Responses (PROACT EU-Response)
• Duration: 60 months (1 January 2025 – 31 December 2029)
• Status: ongoing
• Funding programme: the project is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action co-funded by the European Union, under call HORIZON-HLTH-2024-DISEASE-03-two-stage.

What will the project do?

Recent pandemics showed Europe how serious health threats can be to society. Proactive approaches are needed to ensure that medical countermeasures are available during pandemics. PROACT EU-Response’s overarching objective is to prepare Europe for future pandemics by strengthening upon existing networks of experts and civil society focused on clinical therapeutic platform trials within hospital inpatient settings across Europe. In case of an outbreak, this network will provide capacity to pivot rapidly to implement large, multi-country platform trials studying therapeutics and diagnostic-tool performance.

By bringing together scientists, social science researchers, and civil society members, PROACT EU-Response will benefit the entire European population and beyond through decreased mortality and morbidity associated with emerging diseases, lower societal economic costs of morbidity, strengthened research and innovation expertise, human capacities, and know-how for combatting communicable diseases.

What are the expected outcomes?

• Expanding a solid network of clinical centres across Europe that will implement a clinical trial assessing a syndromic approach for respiratory viral infections
• Strengthening a laboratory network to identify pathogens and biomarkers of disease monitoring for routine surveillance
• Supporting a network of methodologists and trialists who will ensure the trials’ logistical and methodological aspects
• Initiating a network of professionals to work on preparedness tools to ensure a smooth pivot from inter-pandemic to the pandemic period in case of an outbreak
• Building a network of social science researchers who will provide nuanced understanding of the social contexts
• Establishing a community group to work on activities that will empower patients and citizens in Europe regarding their own health and educate them about science and health issues

What is EPFs role?

EPF will activate the patient community and will hold a central role in communicating and disseminating project results to a wider audience to promote awareness among citizens and patients' communities, and to maximise the impact of the overall activities of the PROACT EU-Response project.

Consortium

The consortium is led by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) and composed of 24 partners from 10 countries:

• Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM)
• Sorbonne Université
• Oslo Universitetssykehus HF
• Servicio Madrileño de Salud
• Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Universitario La Paz
• Université Libre de Bruxelles
• Università degli Studi di Verona
• University College London
• University College Dublin
• European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN)
• Hospices Civils de Lyon
• bioMérieux SA
• Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
• European Patients' Forum
• Collectif No FakeMed
• NILE
• Les Markabiens
• University of Galway
• INSERM Transfert SA
• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Universiteit Antwerpen
• University of Lancaster
• University of Bristol
• Medizinische Universität Wien
• Stichting Nederlandse Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Instituten (CWI)
• Universität Basel