Saatja: European Pandemic Preparedness Partnership <
[email protected]>
Saadetud: 17.10.2023 17:08
Adressaat: <"SM Info">
Teema: Invitation to the EuCoReFund survey
Dear Madam, Sir,
The European clinical research response to the COVID-19 pandemic was highly fragmented
and resulted in many unimpactful clinical studies. No coordination of clinical studies existed
among Member States and there was a lack of consensus on clinical research priorities. As a
result, many clinical studies and trials conducted in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic failed
to deliver solid conclusions, having very little impact on patient management. Therefore, we need
to do better in our response to future infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics.
In 2025, the European Pandemic Preparedness Partnership will be launched with the
overarching goal of improving EU’s preparedness to respond to emerging infectious health
threats. One of the pillars of this Partnership focuses on clinical research and studies (including
clinical trials) of infectious diseases. Now is the opportune moment to develop a mechanism for
better coordination of clinical studies and trials, including funding, at the EU, national, and
regional levels.
To develop such a mechanism, a comprehensive understanding of the processes and barriers
of public funding of clinical research and studies in Europe, as well as funders’ experience of
funding clinical research and studies during the COVID-19 pandemic, is crucial. To achieve this
objective, a survey has been developed by the Laboratory of Medical Microbiology of the
University of Antwerp, Belgium, and the Department Economy, Science and Innovation of the
Flemish government, in collaboration with the EU-funded BE READY project
(https://beready4pandemics.eu/). This survey aims to gather pertinent data that is critical for
improving the coordination of clinical studies and trials.
Through this email, we would like to invite you to participate in the EuCoReFund (European
Coordination of Clinical Research Funding) survey. In this survey, you will be asked to provide
information on the number and types of clinical studies (both non-interventional and
interventional) funded by your organisation, your organisation’s funding policies, the calls
supported and the selection processes, and budget estimates. Your participation in this survey
will provide extremely important information and represents an indisputably valuable public good.
After the survey, we also plan to interview substantial funders of clinical research and studies of
infectious diseases to collect more in-depth qualitative data. These interviews will help us to
better understand challenges and experiences encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You will receive a detailed report of the results, and the outcomes will be presented at webinars
and a two-day event that will be organised in Antwerp on May 14-15th, 2024 within the framework
of the 2024 Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will be held by
Belgium between 1 January and 30 June 2024. During this presidency, Belgium will focus on
three major themes within the health domain: “A Europe that cares, prepares and protects,
strengthening the EU Health Union”. This survey and the reports will also help building a
European Pandemic Preparedness and Response Observatory, currently developed within the
BE READY project.
The link to access to the survey is the following: https://data.castoredc.com/survey/3WRQ66DX
and the deadline for submission is 30 November 2023.
If you have further questions about this survey, please feel free to contact Dr. Antea Paviotti at
[email protected] or Dr. Safia Thaminy at
[email protected].
If you have further questions about the new European Pandemic Preparedness Partnership or
the Belgian EU Presidency initiatives, please feel free to contact us, Emeritus Professor Dr.
Herman Goossens, of the Laboratory of Medical Microbiology of the University of Antwerp, at
[email protected], or Dr. Kathleen D’Hondt, at the Department of Economy, Science
and Innovation of the Flemish government, at
[email protected].
Many thanks for your invaluable support and we look forward to receiving your inputs. With your
participation in this survey, we can build a strong Pandemic Preparedness Partnership to better
prepare for future outbreaks and pandemics. Your participation and the new Partnership will also
help building a better European ecosystem for clinical studies and trials.
Kathleen D’Hondt and Herman Goossens
Castor Electronic Data Capture
www.castoredc.com