Europe invests €240 million in ten-year pandemic preparedness research
The European Commission and national partners launch a €240 million decade-long research alliance to strengthen preparedness for future pandemics.
In Paris today (17 February), the ANRS Emerging Infections Diseases agency and the European Commission launched BE READY, a new strategic partnership designed to reinforce Europe’s capacity to anticipate, prevent, and rapidly respond to epidemics and pandemics.
“Europe’s pandemic preparedness must be built on sound scientific foundations. That is why we are making €120 million from the Horizon Europe budget available for the BE READY partnership. Through BE READY, we are putting our citizens’ health first while reinforcing Europe’s innovation leadership,” European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, for Ekaterina Zaharieva.
While described as new, it is based on three years of preparatory work funded between 2022 and 2025. 50% (€120 million) of the funding will be funded from the EU research framework programme Horizon Europe. The remaining funding will come from participating EU member states and associated countries. ANRS is the lead co-ordinator.
“By bringing together national funders, research institutions and European bodies under a shared long-term vision, BE READY transforms how Europe organises and governs research for epidemic and pandemic preparedness,” said BE READY Coordinator, Hervé Raoul, Deputy Director of ANRS MIE
The funding will support research on emerging and re-emerging pathogens while accelerating the development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. Beyond funding research projects, it aims to align national priorities, improve co-ordination among countries and enable joint transnational calls supporting multinational research teams.
According to European Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, the initiative will transform knowledge into real-world protection:
“BE READY puts research at the heart of preparedness, so people can get medicines, vaccines and vital tools faster when a crisis hits. We are working across borders and institutions to build a stronger Europe, ready to anticipate health threats and respond quickly when lives are at stake.”
The news comes as Nature revealed that staff at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) were asked by the current US administration to remove any references to biosecurity or pandemic preparedness from its website.
Around a third of NIAID’s funding (US $6.6 billion) funds projects involving emerging infectious diseases and biodefence. The National Institutes of Health’s Director Jay Bhattacharya also decided to defund mRNA vaccine programmes last year, despite their role in saving millions of lives in the pandemic.
After COVID-19 exposed the cost of delay, BE READY and other EU initiatives have sought to ensure preparation ahead of the next crisis; as in other areas, the US appears to be moving in the opposite direction.