Europe is confronted with a multitude of health challenges for which strong research and innovation efforts may bring solutions. The strategies and policies governing R&I, however, need to be harmonized across different levels (EU, national, regional) and transcend geographical boundaries to defragment European research efforts.
The need for European cross-border alignment of R&I efforts became particularly obvious during the COVID pandemic. Although there is an immense potential throughout Europe to become the preferred global hub to conduct clinical studies and trials, Europe largely failed to secure this potential.
Besides the imminent urgency to provide a response in case of a pandemic, aligning R&I strategies and policies is also crucial to develop healthcare of the future, which will be personalised and preventive, building on the convergence of cutting-edge technologies, such as bio-, nano-, digital technologies and engineering and integration of several types of data, including genomic data, health data, and real-world data. The transformative potential of such convergence, however, is frequently hindered by the challenge of translating scientific knowledge into practical innovations and effectively incorporating these innovations into healthcare systems as well as the lack of standardisation and harmonisation.
The European partnerships and access to high-end research infrastructures play a pivotal role in addressing the fragmentation of European R&I efforts and realising the ultimate goals and ambitions of establishing Europe as a lead region in the world providing R&I-based answers to complex health challenges.
The main objective of the EU-funded PRIOHealth was to contribute to research and innovation (R&I) policies for better health, wellbeing and prosperity. Two major subgoals/ fields that may benefit significantly from better aligned R&I strategies and policies were identified, i.e. improve the R&I response in pandemic emergencies and accelerate de development of personalised and preventive medicine, using the potential of converging technologies. Both major subgoals were addressed in two dedicated conferences: “Europe united against old and new pandemics” (afterwards referred to as the ‘pandemics conference’) and “The convergence of technologies driving R&I towards the development of healthcare of the future” (afterwards referred to as the ‘genomics conference’). These events allowed to identify R&I needs to address major challenges, respectively related to pandemics and interfering with the transformative change promised by convergence of technologies for better healthcare for the future.
The specific objectives included:
1. Create better understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to pandemic preparedness
2. Create better understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to genomics for better health
3. Harmonise the R&I strategies and policies in Member States through the alignment of European partnerships related to the topics of each conference
4. To facilitate networking activities between policy contributors, researchers and industry to exchange ideas to foster innovation
The EU-funded PRIOHealth project addresses Europe’s health challenges through two conferences under the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU. "Europe United Against Old and New Pandemics" (May 14-15 in Antwerp) reviewed lessons from COVID-19 and strategies for future health threat preparedness. "The Convergence of Technologies Enabling R&I for Healthcare of the Future" (May 28-29 in Brussels) explored the potential of technologies like biotech, nanotech, digitalization, and big data in driving healthcare innovation. Both conferences gathered prominent academics, policymakers, and global experts to discuss key topics and foster European partnerships. Coordinated by the Flemish Department for Economy, Science and Innovation, partners, and co-financed by the European Commission, PRIOHealth enhances research and innovation in healthcare.
