European Commission funds 26 new rare disease research projects

Hannah Blake

pharmaphorum

The European Commission is going to provide €144 million to fund 26 new rare disease research projects, aimed to help improve the lives of some of the 30 million Europeans suffering from a rare disease.

The selected projects will bring together over 300 participants from 29 countries in Europe and beyond, including teams from leading academic institutions, SMEs and patients' groups. The goal is to pool resources and work beyond borders, to get a better understanding of rare diseases and find adequate treatments.

"Most rare diseases affect children and most of them are devastating genetic disorders resulting in greatly reduced quality of life and premature death. We hope that these new research projects will bring patients, their families and health professionals closer to a cure and support them in their daily battle with disease."

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science.

The 26 new projects cover a broad spectrum of rare diseases such as cardiovascular, metabolic and immunological disorders. Many of the new projects will contribute to the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC), the biggest collective rare diseases research effort world-wide.

The new projects will bring the number of EU-funded collaborative research projects related to rare diseases to close to 100 over the last six years. Altogether, they represent an investment of almost €500 million. This new funding was announced on Rare Disease Day 2013.