Launched in 2003, The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) is a public-public partnership between 14 countries in Europe and 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, supported by the European Union.
EDCTP was renewed in 2014 with funding until 2024, and launched its last calls in 2020. Now, planning is underway for the successor to the EDCTP2 Programme, the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking. On November 19, the legal basis of EDCTP3 and nine other European Partnerships under Horizon Europe was adopted. The EU will provide nearly €10 billion of funding that the ten partnerships will match with at least an equivalent amount of investment.
EDCTP3 scheduled to launch in Q1 2022
Scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2022, EDCTP3 will build on the foundation laid by earlier EDCTP programmes and retain its focus on poverty-related infectious diseases. The programme will support international research partnerships to accelerate the clinical evaluation of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for key infectious diseases affecting sub-Saharan Africa, as well as novel approaches for surveillance and control of emerging and re-emerging infections.
EDCTP3 will also retain its focus on special populations, particularly infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women. To accelerate the introduction of new medical interventions, it will have a stronger emphasis on later-stage phase III and IV trials and product-focused implementation research. With infectious disease typically associated with multiple co-morbidities, including non-communicable diseases, integrated patient-centred care will be an important driver of interdisciplinary research. Within the frame of the new programme, emphasis will be put on studies that aim to harness the power of new digital technologies to enhance integrated patient care.
In addition, the Global Health EDCTP3 programme will address the growing threats of antimicrobial resistance and climate crises, which are likely to have multiple impacts on infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
Retained focus on Capacity Building
As in EDCTP2, capacity building will lie at the heart of EDCTP3’s activities. It will continue to strengthen the technical infrastructure for clinical and laboratory studies in sub-Saharan Africa and build intellectual expertise and leadership through training and fellowship schemes. EDCTP3 also aims to strengthen national and regional systems for ethical and regulatory oversight of research.
The Global Health EDCTP3 draft proposal and Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) are accessible on the European Commission website.
A number of projects in the LINQ portfolio are funded through EDCTP2, including PredictTB, TriageTB, StatinTB, TB-CAPT and Core-NB. Our team has extensive experience in managing EDCTP-funded initiatives and looks forward to the publication of the first round of EDCTP3 calls next year.