ICPerMed promotes the establishment of a European Partnership for Personalised Medicine, EP PerMed, together with the closely connected  ERA-Net ERA PerMed.

For questions around EP PerMed, please contact the EP PerMed drafting group: eppermed@dlr.de 

These are the steps in preparation of this new initiative so far:

• March 2023: Publication of the report on the open consultation for the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) in support for EP PerMed
• January 2023: ICPerMed Workshop in support of EP PerMed, Pamplona, Spain
• November 2022: Online-Consultation for the EP PerMed Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda
• February 2022: Draft proposal “European Partnership on Personalised Medicine”
• May 2021: EP PerMed Information Day, jointly organised by ICPerMed and ERA PerMed
• May 2021: Guidance Document and Information Sheets
• February 2021: Draft Concept Paper
• Background: European Partnerships 

The EP PerMed proposal submission will take place in April 2023 and the partnership is supposed to be launched by the end of 2023.

Draft Proposal: European Partnership for Personalised Medicine

February 2022
As next step towards a European Partnership for Personalised Medicine, a drafting group was established by the Member States in close collaboration with the European Commission. With support and guidance from the European Commission, they developed a draft proposal for the Partnership that was published by the European Commission in February 2022. It is a further step in the establishment and preparation of the partnership for personalised medicine, to be co-funded by the EC in the European Union’s 9th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe.

The European Partnership for Personalised Medicine Vision, as outlined in the draft proposal:

“Improve health outcomes within sustainable healthcare systems through research, and the development and implementation of personalised medicine approaches for the benefit of patients, citizens and society.”

To realise its vision, the partnership will integrate all the elements needed in a collaborative effort to achieve the full potential of personalised medicine:

• Generate research and results through funding activities for example via transnational and cross-sectorial research consortia, networks, pilots and collaborations. 
• The partnership will be the most significant platform and initiative to connect key stakeholders in the personalised medicine field to share evidence, demonstrate solutions and to drive supportive activities in policy, regulatory science and health economics. 

The EP PerMed aims to align and promote national and regional priority setting and funding for research and implementation projects in the area of personalised medicine between the EU Member States (MS), regions and associated countries as well as international partner countries.

EP PerMed Information Day: “European Partnership for Personalised Medicine calling for national and regional involvement”

On May 31, 2021, ICPerMed and ERA PerMed organised a virtual information event. All interested stakeholders, in particular national and regional authorities (as ministries, funders, etc.) were invited.

ICPerMed and ERA PerMed informed about their joint proposal for EP PerMed, its objectives, activities and expected impacts, and the overall framework for engagement in this partnership.

Further, ICPerMed and ERA PerMed wanted to engage with national and regional authorities as well as funders and stakeholders interested in promoting and implementing personalised medicine approaches in their countries and regions, with the overall aim to foster personalised diagnostics, therapies and prevention for the benefit of patients and citizens.

The virtual event took place on May 31, 2021 (13.00 – 16.30 CEST).
More information is available here.

Guidance Document / Information Sheets

ICPerMed and ERA PerMed further published a jointly developed guide for the next steps towards EP PerMed.

The Guideline Paper is intended to provide support for representatives of national and regional authorities, ministries, funders and policy makers and the Personalised Medicine stakeholder community. The path towards EP PerMed is work in process. Thus, this guideline is a dynamic document that will be updated when new information or developments become available.

In addition, topic-specific Information Sheets are available for areas of action listed in the guideline paper.

EP PerMed InfoSheet1 – Summary of Draft Concept Paper
EP PerMed InfoSheet 2 – Stakeholder Community
EP PerMed InfoSheet 3 – National Hubs for Personalised Medicine
EP PerMed InfoSheet 4 – Regional Opportunities
EP PerMed InfoSheet 5 – Joint Funding Activities
EP PerMed InfoSheet 6 – Industry Involvement
EP PerMed InfoSheet 7 – International Perspective

With these documents, ICPerMed and ERA PerMed aim to promote EP PerMed. Information on EP PerMed’s preparations and recommendations for regional/national organisations in preparation of EP PerMed are provided. The aim is to foster participation of interested organisations and to help organise the baselines for preparations on the regional and national level, in order to mobilise national budget commitments and receive stakeholder input for the creation of the partnership.

Draft Concept Paper

ICPerMed and ERA PerMed published a jointly developed draft concept paper for EP PerMed.

With this paper, ICPerMed and ERA PerMed underline the need for establishing a European Partnership for Personalised Medicine and propose their vision for it, its objectives, its activities and its expected impacts. The paper also outlines the composition of the partnership consortium and its interaction with the Personalised Medicine ecosystem, at European and international level.

The current version of the draft concept paper was provided to the European Commission after receiving the approval by the over 50 organisations from more than 30 countries (of which 24 European countries) involved in ICPerMed and/or ERA PerMed.

The paper received valuable European Commission input but does not represent an official document developed and approved by the European Commission. The paper is not the official partnership proposal.

Background: European Partnerships

Within the EU’s 9th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe, the set-up of a European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed) is proposed. Its aim is to align and promote regional and national priority setting and funding for research and implementation projects in the area of personalised medicine between the EU Member States, regions and associated countries as well as international partner countries.

European Partnerships  are a “new generation” of partnerships that will in Horizon Europe replace previous forms of partnerships, e.g. ERA-Nets or JPIs. Their general aim is to bring the European Commission and private and/or public partners together to address some of Europe’s most pressing challenges through concerted research and innovation initiatives. Identifying European Partnerships is an integral part of Horizon Europe’s strategic planning process.

Personalised Medicine is one out of currently 49 topics that are suggested for a European Partnership.
Over the last years, a lot has been achieved in the field of personalised medicine by a large number of international, pan-European, national as well as regional activities and initiatives. But to further develop and foster promising personalised medicine approaches, there is a need of an even closer collaboration and effort which could be achieved by such a European Partnership for Personalised Medicine under Horizon Europe.