Boosting innovation through exploitation of digitalisation and data exchange in healthcare

Opened

Programme Category

EU Competitive Programmes

Programme Name

Innovative Health Initiative

Programme Description

IHI JU is based on the idea that interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration will enable perspective and breakthrough innovations in healthcare, including the pharmaceutical industry but also new fields such as biopharmaceuticals, medical technologies and biotechnologies.

Programme Details

Identifier Code

HORIZON-JU-IHI-2025-09-04-single-stage

Call

Boosting innovation through exploitation of digitalisation and data exchange in healthcare

Summary

With a view to harnessing new science and technologies, this topic aims to fund pre-competitive research and innovation for novel tools, methods, technologies etc. that will foster the development of health innovations to prevent, intercept, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and enable recovery more efficiently.

Accordingly, applicants must assemble a collaborative public-private partnership consortium reflecting the integrative and cross-sectoral nature of IHI JU that is capable of directly addressing the challenge(s) and scope of the IHI JU Specific Objective 4 ‘exploit the full potential of digitalisation and data exchange in healthcare’.

Detailed Call Description

Applicants should consider the following points in their proposals:

  • address an unmet public health need based on at least one of the below:
    • the high burden of the disease for patients and/or society due to its severity and/or the number of people affected by it;
    • the high economic impact of the disease for patients and society;
    • the transformational nature of the potential results on innovation processes where projects are not focussed on individual disease areas (e.g. health data analytics).
  • demonstrate the ability to translate research into innovative solutions that can be integrated/implemented into the healthcare ecosystem (taking into consideration the fragmented nature of European healthcare systems) and/or into industrial processes.

When applicable, proposals should consider relevant aspects of patient-centricity, with the help of the most suitable health technologies and/or social innovations, including open science and taking demographic trends into account as relevant.

If applicable, applicants are expected to consider the potential regulatory impact of the anticipated project’s outputs, and, as relevant, develop a regulatory strategy and interaction plan for generating appropriate evidence and for engaging with regulators and other bodies in a timely manner, e.g. EU national competent authorities, notified bodies for medical devices and in vitro diagnostic devices, health technologies assessment (HTA) agencies, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), through existing opportunities for regulatory support services such as the Innovation Task Force and qualification advice.

Applicants should consider relevant existing initiatives/projects to ensure synergies and complementarities and avoid unnecessary overlap and duplication of efforts. The proposal should include a plan on how to synergise with these initiatives.

The actions to be funded under this topic are expected to achieve the following: contribute to one or more of IHI JU’s expected impacts linked to IHI JU’s Specific Objective 4, as reflected in the IHI JU SRIA, i.e.:

  • wider availability of interoperable, quality data, respecting FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles, facilitating research and the development of integrated products and services;
  • improved insight into the real-life behaviour and challenges of patients with complex, chronic diseases and co-morbidities thanks to m health and e-health technologies;
  • advanced analytics / artificial intelligence supporting health R&I, resulting in a) clinical decision support for increased accuracy of diagnosis and efficacy of treatment; b) shorter times to market; c) wider availability of personalised health interventions to end-users; d) better evidence of the added value from new digital health and artificial intelligence tools, including reduced risk of bias due to improved methodologies.

contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the EU’s health industry via increased economic activity in the development of health technologies, in particular, integrated health solutions, thus fostering European technological leadership and the digital transformation of our societies.

Call Total Budget

Applicant consortia will be competing for the maximum financial contribution from IHI JU of up to €24.000.000. IHI JU estimates that an IHI JU financial contribution of at least €8.000.000 is necessary to allow a proposal to address these outcomes appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude the submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.

Thematic Categories

  • Health
  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • Information Technology
  • Public Administration
  • Research, Technological Development and Innovation

Eligibility for Participation

  • Associations
  • Educational Institutions
  • Legal Entities
  • NGOs
  • Non Profit Organisations
  • Other Beneficiaries
  • Private Bodies
  • Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
  • State-owned Enterprises

Eligibility For Participation Notes

Science and technologies are changing rapidly, and their successful implementation requires increasing cross-sectoral integration of technologies, know-how, products, services, and workflows for delivering people-centred healthcare. Laying the groundwork for the development of innovative tangible health solutions suitable for end-users therefore, requires expertise, resources, and knowledge from all stakeholders in the innovation value chain.

IHI JU provides a unique framework to stimulate a co-creation/co-ideation approach, bringing together the private (pharma and medical technology industry sectors) and public partners (academia, healthcare professionals and providers, patients and carers, regulators, health technology assessment bodies, payers) as well as charitable foundations / philanthropic organisations with a view towards ensuring that the developed solutions are comprehensive, evidence-based, and aligned with public health needs whilst offering new market opportunities to companies.

Applicant consortia must ensure that at least 45% of the action’s eligible costs and costs for the action related additional activities are provided by in-kind contributions to operational activities (‘IKOP’), financial contributions (‘FC’s), or in-kind contributions to additional activities (‘IKAA’). However, while 45% is the threshold for eligibility, applicant consortia are strongly advised to aim for 50% to adequately support the ambition of the research in question and reflect the true public-private dimension as well as to provide a margin e.g. for unforeseen changes during the project lifetime.

IKOP and FCs may be contributed by the constituent and/or affiliated entities of both the private members and/or the contributing partners, if relevant. IKAA may be contributed by constituent and/or affiliated entities of the private members only.

Call Opening Date

16/01/2025

Call Closing Date

29/04/2025

EU Contact Point

Innovative Health Initiative:
Τelephone: +32 (0)2 221 81 81
Email: infodesk@ihi.europa.eu
Address:

  • IHI JU – TO56, 1049 Brussels – Belgium
  • Ave de la Toison d’Or 56-60, 1060 Brussels – Belgium