Support to European Research Area (ERA) action on accelerating New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to advance biomedical research and testing of medicinal products and medical devices

Opened

Code: 39601 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-TOOL-06 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

This topic aims to coordinate and develop the new European Research Area (ERA) policy action to accelerate, through an aligned and coordinated approach across Member States and Associated Countries, the development, validation/qualification, acceptance, and uptake of NAMs in biomedical research and regulatory testing of medicinal products and medical devices as part of the ERA Policy Agenda 2025-2027.

Support for a multilateral initiative on climate change and health research

Opened

Code: 39598 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-ENVHLTH-05 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

Climate-related health challenges are global and complex in nature, which calls for coordinated action bringing together different research disciplines, policy sectors, perspectives and approaches.

This requires seamless communication and synergies between different Research and Innovation (R&I) funding instruments.

Pilot actions for follow-on funding: Leveraging EU-funded collaborative research in regenerative medicine

Opened

Code: 39595 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-TOOL-05 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

R&I is essential for economic growth and boosting the competitiveness of the EU’s life sciences sector. Through the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Framework Programmes, the EU has supported projects that significantly impact our health by fostering scientific discoveries and developing new solutions.

Transformational health innovations, such as mRNA vaccines, highlight the importance of collaboration among businesses, research institutions, and healthcare providers. Furthermore, sustained funding throughout the entire value chain is crucial for maximising impact and ensuring more products reach patients faster.

The main aim of this topic is to pilot a follow-on funding mechanism, supporting the stepwise development of biotech innovations through collaboration, resulting from previously supported EU R&I actions in the field of health. This topic contributes to strengthening the R&I ecosystem within the EU and supports the implementation of the “Strategy for European Life Sciences”. Given the importance of biotechnology as a critical technology, this topic aims to ensure that promising research results are efficiently taken further along the value chain, speeding the time to market or patient through stepwise funding and increasing the EU’s competitiveness.

The chosen area of focus is regenerative medicine as it has the potential to heal or replace tissues and organs damaged by age, disease, or trauma, as well as to normalise congenital defects. Proposals should focus on prototyping, demonstrating and validating health innovations from TRL 5, moving beyond early-stage research to clinical development, testing, or eventual large-scale manufacturing. The previously funded EU research on which the proposal is build should be applicable to the field of regenerative medicine and should have clear exploitation potential and/or socio-economic benefits for the patients.

Development of novel vaccines for viral pathogens with epidemic potential

Opened

Code: 39592 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-04 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

Infectious diseases remain a major threat to health and health security in the EU and globally. Viral disease emergence is already being accelerated by climate change, and thus a proactive approach to the development of vaccine-based antiviral prophylactics and therapeutics in preparedness for future infectious disease outbreaks is needed. The availability of vaccines that can be adjusted to variants would provide a critical preparedness measure against future health threats, due to infectious disease epidemics or pandemics.

Towards climate resilient, prepared and carbon neutral populations and healthcare systems

Opened

Code: 39589 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-ENVHLTH-04 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

The health sector accounts for nearly 5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and generates significant demands for energy and materials, as well as dangerous polluting streams. Proactive mitigation efforts in the health sector can significantly reduce GHG emissions and pollution, saving many lives and contributing to relieve pressures on biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, specific mechanisms for emission reductions in the health sector remain less defined compared to those in other sectors.

Regulatory science to support translational development of patient-centred health technologies

Opened

Code: 39585 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-IND-03 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

The development, uptake and impact of health technologies typically results from a long product development process that is based on a ‘life cycle approach’ which typically involves several iterations of defined stages, i.e. from development, assessment to post-market surveillance and post-market clinical follow-up.

While health technologies are governed by comprehensive legal frameworks aiming to ensure that health technologies are safe and effective, the regulatory science underlying these legal frameworks needs to be updated.

This concerns inter alia 

1. more precise delineation of specific requirements (e.g. closing existing gaps concerning sufficiency of clinical evidence) and
2. the consideration of novel biomedical approaches, data and digital solutions (e.g. artificial intelligence – AI, virtual human twin, new approach methodologies as well as methods that cut through these domains) which model and predict relevant biological parameters and exploit relevant end-points and novel (bio)markers for clinical diagnostic and prognostic predictions.

Such update of the regulatory science of health technologies should aim at supporting an effective adoption and uptake into routine use by health systems and end-users (healthcare providers, citizens), while maintaining guardrails to ensure that innovative health technologies are backed up by evidence of sufficient quality and relevance to the human situation.

Advancing research on the prevention, diagnosis, and management of post-infection long-term conditions

Opened

Code: 39583 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-03 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

Microbial infections can lead to long-lasting consequences on patients’ quality of life, leading to long-term conditions characterised by persistent inflammation, organ damage, and impaired functional capacity, which pose a growing public health and economic challenge.

These conditions are insufficiently understood, underdiagnosed, and lack effective treatments.

Advancing research into their prevention, treatment and management is essential to improving patient outcomes, reducing healthcare burdens, and strengthening workforce productivity.

Identifying and addressing low-value care in health and care systems

Opened

Code: 39580 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-CARE-03 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

Low-value care, as defined in the footnote, can have widespread negative consequences for patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, the health and care system, and the broader environment. A 2017 OECD report estimated that “wasteful healthcare spending is common” and that “up to one-fifth of healthcare spending could be redirected towards better uses”.

Low-value care represents a significant challenge, contributing to waste, costs, misuse of resources, and inefficiencies. Addressing low-value care can free up and allow reallocation of valuable healthcare resources to other areas of need, thereby maximising health outcomes, improving health and care systems resilience, and reducing their environmental impact. In this context, a recent report by the Expert Group on Health Systems Performance Assessment (HSPA) establishes the methodological basis and metrics to identify, measure and reduce low-value care.

Integrating New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to advance biomedical research and regulatory testing

Opened

Code: 39577 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-TOOL-03 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

This topic aims to support the ongoing paradigm shift in biomedical research and safety assessment of chemical compounds by fully integrating NAMs across the entire research and regulatory spectrum, from basic discovery phase to clinical application, and regulatory testing of medicinal products and medical devices, and/or industrial and environmental chemicals.

Building public trust and outreach in the life sciences

Opened

Code: 39574 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-STAYHLTH-03 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

Life science innovations significantly contribute to peoples’ daily life and to individual and social well-being. To foster public trust, people must understand how life sciences work and how these technologies may impact people’s lives.

Innovative interventions to prevent the harmful effects of using digital technologies on the mental health of children and young adults

Opened

Code: 39571 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-02 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

Already before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 6 people in the EU suffered from mental health issues. The economic costs of it are estimated at 4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and since then these figures worsened in particular among vulnerable groups such as children and adolescents or those at risk of discrimination. Digital technologies have the potential to enhance mental health for instance by providing access to information, support networks and therapy services.

However, there are indications that the excessive or misguided use of digital technologies, particularly among children and young adults, can negatively affect mental health and exacerbate mental disorders. There is an urgent need for more robust data to foster a safer, responsible and healthier use of digital technologies among children and young adults, prioritising the protection of their mental health.

Behavioural interventions as primary prevention for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) among young people

Opened

Code: 39569 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-STAYHLTH-02 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

The topic is focused on behavioural interventions for youth, defined as 12 to 25 years old, for the primary prevention of the top NCDs later in life, where “top NCDs” refers to the most prevalent NCDs. For the purpose of this call, NCDs explicitly exclude cancer.

Implementation research should be conducted to implement existing behavioural interventions. These interventions should be evidence-based and have an emphasis on empowerment and self-management (e.g. health literacy, health education, health promotion). As self-monitoring is an essential element of self-management, proposals should include user-friendly hardware and software for efficient self-monitoring (i.e. wearables and point-of-care devices for measuring various physiological parameters and other predictors and other biomarkers and the corresponding apps for easy readout and tracking, possibly also including gamification elements). Hardware and software should be interoperable in line with internationally accepted standards in order to avoid lock-in effects and assure scalability.

Towards a better understanding and anticipation of the impacts of climate change on health

Opened

Code: 39565 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-ENVHLTH-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

The climate crisis poses an existential challenge to planetary and human health with larger effects on populations, groups and regions in a vulnerable situation. Climate change increases the incidence of non-communicable diseases and the prevalence of mental health conditions and facilitates the emergence and spread of infectious diseases. Climate change can act as a risk multiplier and exacerbates existing health conditions and vulnerabilities.

Public procurement of innovative solutions for improving citizens’ access to healthcare through integrated or personalised approaches

Opened

Code: 39562 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-CARE-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Health (Cluster 1) (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 16/04/2026

Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI) can boost the wider market uptake of high impact innovations in health systems, while enhancing the tools available to providers and improving access to healthcare for citizens.

This supports enhancement of social rights and the European economic competitiveness by providing business opportunities and thus incentives to innovate. By acting as early adopters of innovative solutions, procurers can open up new growth markets for the European industry and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Joint/collaborative demand-driven initiatives can help create economies of scale and facilitate the wider adoption of innovations in the health sector for the benefits of patients in need.

Improve the Quality of Life of older cancer patients

Opened

Code: 39557 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-07 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 15/09/2026

This topic contributes to the EU Cancer Mission’s objective to improve quality of life of cancer patients. The focus is on cancer patients aged 65 years and above.

Currently, older cancer patients represent the largest proportion of cancer patients especially in Europe, with more than two thirds of new cancer cases being diagnosed in patients above the age of 65. Yet, there is still relatively little knowledge about their functional health and care needs during and after treatment.

Managing cancer in older patients is complex, due to the high heterogeneity in terms of their intrinsic health capacities, including mental health and cognitive capacities, comorbidities, frailty etc. as well as with regard to their performance activities including social interactions, work, mobility etc. Consequently, overall health care needs of older patients with cancer vary significantly.

Older cancer patients are consistently underrepresented in clinical research, with representation declining progressively with increasing age. This leads to a lack of knowledge regarding treatments, specific needs, and clinical endpoints. Older patients are also particularly vulnerable to treatment toxicities loss of muscle mass, and may experience a large variety of confounding comorbidities and symptoms, which strongly impact their quality of life during and after treatment.

As such, quality of life expectations should be systematically factored in the decision process to define the optimal approach to cancer management.

Pragmatic clinical trials to optimise immunotherapeutic interventions for patients with refractory cancers

Opened

Code: 39554 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-03 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 15/09/2026

While cancer research and innovation have generated novel treatment options, patients with refractory cancers across Europe need access to more effective, affordable and tailored cancer immunotherapeutic interventions which keep up with increasing demands in a complex and fragmented oncology healthcare landscape with spiralling healthcare costs.

Development of a research capacity building programme on cancer with and for Ukraine

Opened

Code: 39551 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-06 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 15/09/2026

Ukraine has a very high cancer burden with more than 155,000 new diagnoses every year. The country has also one of the highest childhood cancer mortality rates globally.

Disparities in access and quality of cancer care in Ukraine were high before Russia’s unprovoked aggression and worsened because of the conflict, which has also led to increased cancer mortality and morbidity, due to discontinuation of treatments and shortage of medical supplies.

Microbiome for early cancer prediction before the onset of disease

Opened

Code: 39548 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-02 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 15/09/2026

This topic will contribute to the achievement of the EU Cancer Mission’s objective to achieve better cancer prevention and early detection.

The focus is on the development of validated microbiome tools, an assessment of predispositions, the comparison with other predictive tools and risk modelling approaches.

Boosting mental health of young cancer survivors through the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre (ECPDC)

Opened

Code: 39544 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-05 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 15/09/2026

As part of its citizens engagement activities, the EU Cancer Mission has launched a dialogue with young cancer survivors, to better understand the specific needs and challenges faced during and after treatment.

Mental health has been systematically highlighted as a major concern, stressing the importance of access to quality psychosocial support including through virtual, digital means along the different stages of the patient’s journey, at diagnosis, during and after treatment.

The communication on a Comprehensive approach to mental health adopted by the European Commission on 7 June 2023 calls for the establishment of a platform to boost mental health of young cancer survivors.

Virtual Human Twin (VHT) Models for Cancer Research

Opened

Code: 39540 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 10/02/2026 | End submission calls: 15/09/2026

Virtual human twins (VHTs) are digital representations and in-silico models of an individual’s health and disease at different levels of the human anatomy (e.g. cells, tissues, organs or organ systems) for the prevention, prediction, screening, diagnosis and treatment of a disease, as well as the selection and personalisation of intervention options.