To mark the end of the project and to present its results, the INESS Final Conference will be held at the UIC in Paris on 3 February 2012.

The programme of the free, one-day conference will consist of:

• Morning session – presentations on projects results and lessons learned
• Afternoon session – marketplace and breakout sessions where each work-stream will demonstrate the results, tools and methods used and discuss specific topics

The main objective of INESS is to define and develop specifications for a new generation of interlocking systems, and apply methods and tools capable of reducing LCC and enhancing the standardisation process. In the context of current European policy, it is hereby expected to foster signalling equipment migrations and support the rollout of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).

The European Commission and the European railway associations, together with the railway supply industry, are working closely together to define an efficient migration strategy for ERTMS.  INESS will support the development of a new generation of interlocking systems with optimal harmonised design and interfaces towards adjacent systems such as the European Train Control System (ETCS) Radio Block Centre and outdoor equipment, especially connecting to ETCS.

Who you will meet:

The Conference will be of interest to those working in the field of railway standardisation and specification work, not only in the official standardisation bodies but also in the various sectoral organisations who are increasingly involved in this subject. The INESS project is producing results which should be of significant interest to all those involved in the very important field of railway standardisation.

Benefits of Attending:

Delegates will

• Understand project results and lessons learned
• Learn INESS advantages for the Railways and INESS advantages for the Industry
• Discuss in detail specific topics
• Benefit from networking opportunities with peers and vendors

The Conference is open to all EU participants. The event will be held in English.

For more information about INESS project, the conference and registration to the conference, please contact Maria Lafont (lafont@uic.org), or visit the dedicated website at www.iness.eu/spip.php?article7.

Registration has started for the free INtegrated European Signalling System (INESS) Training Programme, 7-9 March 2012

The INESS training programme will provide:

• Explanations on benefits of a common method for describing functionalities to the railway asset managers
• Dissemination about the common kernel and explanations regarding the advantages for infrastructure managers, industry partners and safety authorities
• Explanations of the advantages of using the common kernel in order to convince standardisation bodies to work towards a European standard
• A presentation about the Interlocking-RBC interface FFFIS, focusing on the benefits of standard interfaces
• A demonstration of the advantages of using the INESS architecture/ interface specifications
• A demonstration of the process towards a proposal for a standardised system architecture to standard-setting and regulatory bodies, safety authorities and the European Railway Agency
• A presentation about the harmonised testing and commissioning of interlockings

Who you will meet :

• Railway Infrastructure Managers – Management & Engeneering level
• Suppliers – Management & Engeneering level
• Railway operators
• Industry
• Data managers and Project managers
• Procurement department from the European Railways
• Business development and Financial department from the European industry

This training programme will be held in Paris at UIC Headquarters

Included :

• Lunches and coffee breaks during working sessions
• Documentation package in English
• 1 social event (dinner) on 7 March 2012

Further information and registration details can be found via www.iness.eu/spip.php?article13.

As such, Research Media Ltd will be providing coverage of the events in its flagship International Innovation publication, detailing the key issues, objectives and outcomes, as well as featuring interviews with prominent members of the ESF. Furthermore, complimentary copies of International Innovation will be available at the events.

International Innovation is a unique publication dedicated to the dissemination of the latest science, research and technology. It offers a bespoke service to researchers and leading scientific institutions who wish to highlight and share their latest work with those in the global research community, producing tailored articles and interviews to suit the needs of its clients.

Nick Brake, Director of Research Media Ltd, is enormously excited by the prospect of being an official media partner of all 2012 ESF events: “We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with the ESF at their upcoming events. The visibility that this will afford to the projects that we disseminate cannot be underestimated and we hope that our presence at the events will attract a wealth of new readers”.

The ESF is an independent, non-governmental organisation dedicated to pan-European scientific networking and collaboration and has played an essential role in mediating a multitude of heterogeneous research cultures and agencies. With a total budget of €61 million in 2010 and a projected economic impact in excess of €1 billion, it is a major driving force for advanced research in Europe.

To guarantee your FREE subscription to International Innovation and to ensure that you stay up to date with the latest ESF events, outcomes and interviews, please visit our dedicated subscriptions page at www.research-europe.com/subscribe.php.

Furthermore, for an overview of the ESF’s 2012 events, please see http://www.esf.org/activities/esf-conferences/2012-upcoming-events.html?year=2012.

Advances in global health are increasingly reliant upon product development partnerships that pool the talents and resources of public, private, academic and philanthropic sectors in a bid for meaningful change. We give the last word this month to Research!America, on the progress being made in the fight to produce a viable vaccine for HIV/AIDS

The early days of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic were ones of widespread public fear, epitomised by the case of Ryan White, the Kokomo, Indiana middle schooler expelled under the false belief that other children could ‘catch’ AIDS from being near him. We’ve come a long, long way since then. A few months after White’s death in 1990, Congress passed the Ryan White Care Act to provide last-resort funding for AIDS treatment. Public misunderstanding about the disease is largely a thing of the past, thanks to the work of committed advocates, including people living with HIV, their loved ones, government leaders such as former Surgeon General C Everett Koop, and policy makers. More recently, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has been widely praised for bringing much-needed funding to provide treatment.

What has received less attention is the research that has made AIDS treatment and prevention possible. U.S. public funding for HIV research – much of it through federal appropriations to the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for International Development, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – has spurred significant scientific discoveries. Moreover, recent scientific breakthroughs led the National Institutes of Health’s Dr Anthony Fauci to say that he finally sees ‘a light at the end of the tunnel’. The end of the AIDS pandemic may at last be within our grasp.

Several recent scientific breakthroughs have occurred: the 2009 Thailand vaccine trial that showed, for the first time, that an effective AIDS vaccine is conceptually possible; the 2011 finding reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that antiretroviral treatment in an infected person can prevent new infections in non-infected partners; and research in broadly neutralising antibodies that means an AIDS vaccine is closer than ever before. Strategic partnerships between the public sector and the private sector have contributed meaningfully to this progress.

To take just one of these examples, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative discovery reported in Nature in August 2011 described the identification of 17 powerful, broadly neutralising antibodies that will allow vaccine researchers to search more quickly and efficiently for an AIDS vaccine. The analysis also hints at how future vaccines might be formulated to maximise their effectiveness. Such discoveries could also pave the way for a universal flu vaccine that would protect against different strains over many years (including pandemic flu), potentially alleviating the need for the annual flu shot.

This progress would not have been achieved without the teams of diverse partners working across the public, private, philanthropic and academic sectors to speed development of global health technologies along the R&D pipeline. In non-profit collaborations like these, called product development partnerships, or PDPs, the best minds come together to accelerate progress on drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic needed to protect the health of impoverished populations in developing countries from diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and tropical diseases.

What’s unique about this type of public-private partnership is the model’s unprecedented efficiency. The health technologies often are destined for the world’s most vulnerable populations in countries least likely to have a viable market for even lifesaving tools. So PDPs have to work smart to keep R&D costs down and to move through the pipeline – from basic research, through clinical trials, and ultimately, to production and distribution of a health product – quickly. PDPs harness the right partners at the right time to accelerate progress for promising new health technologies, including vaccines, drugs and diagnostics.

HIV/AIDS is just one of the global killers on which PDPs have set their sights, and the success PDPs have achieved in global health technology should be enough to convince the philanthropic community and public and private sector stakeholders to embrace the PDP model with an eye towards increased investment. It’s not a question of whether the work of PDPs will save millions of lives; it’s simply a matter of how quickly we can deploy this strategy to accelerate human progress.

Article contributed by Eleanor Dehoney, Vice President, Policy and Programs, and Danielle Doughman, Program Manager, Global Health R&D Advocacy, at Research!America.

www.researchamerica.org

Research Media Ltd is delighted to announce that it will be an official media partner of the COST Exploratory Workshop on Sustainable Protein Supply.

The one day event will take place in Amsterdam on Friday 16 March and will provide an opportunity for researchers and policy makers to discuss the most pressing concerns in supplying a sustainable protein supply in the future. In light of the FAO’s estimation that global meat consumption will rise to 463 tonnes in 2050, a collaborative approach to meeting demand and developing policies that promote sustainability is essential.

Nick Brake, Director of Research Media Ltd asserted: “We are thrilled to be an official media partner of the COST Exploratory Workshop on Sustainable Protein Supply. Sustainable meat and protein production is an important topic and a growing concern, and we hope that the event will make a major contribution to a more sustainable future”.

Key topics to be discussed at the event include improvements to the animal production chain, replacing animal protein with that sourced from plants, alternatives to conventional animal protein such as in vitro meat, and improved integration of the system.

Please see the COST website for further information: www.cost.esf.org

The programme sessions will offer a forum to present and debate on the current state of gender equality within research and science organisations. Research Media Ltd Director Nick Brake expresses his delight to play a key role in the Summit: “Research Media Ltd is pleased to promote the first ever European Gender Summit by serving as official media partner. As one of the leading scientific dissemination services in Europe, we look forward to spreading awareness of the importance of including all individuals in the pursuit of more comprehensive research and innovation”.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the latest research on gender and innovation, learn how to implement solutions to gender-related issues within their work environment, and contribute their project to be included in a reference base to be showcased at the stakeholder exhibition. The discussions will culminate in a manifesto on policy development on gender for innovation called “Integrated Action on the Gender Dimension in Research.”

The European Gender Summit is supported by the European Commission through the Science and Society Programme (FP7). Key speakers include Director of the Joint Research Council and the Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Dr Elke Anklam, and Chief Editor of the peer-reviewed journal PLos, Dr Virginia Barbour

Commissioner for Research, Innovation & Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn encourages the Summit’s dedication to gender equality saying: “Specific measures are needed to support women’s scientific careers, and to address gender factors in the research process, with a view to improving quality. The European Gender Summit will show how these issues can be tackled more effectively through collaboration between scientists, gender research scholars and policy makers”.

www.gender-summit.eu/

This event is vital in shaping the direction of future stem cell research and application, and Research Media Ltd is proud to confirm that it will be an official media partner for this year’s Summit, as Director Simon Jones asserts: “Research Media Ltd is absolutely delighted to be an official partner of the 7^th Annual Stem Cell Summit. We are dedicated to disseminating the latest science, research and technology, and the field of stem cell and regenerative medicine is certainly one of the most innovative and exciting fields in modern science”.

This year’s event will feature the release of the 2011 World Stem Cell Report, which will afford a global perspective of the greatest issues facing the stem cell community and the impact that they are having on how the field develops. With a full programme ranging from translational progress in different disease areas, to stem cell tourism and economic and commercial opportunities, this is an essential forum for all stakeholders in this discipline.

The Summit has attracted great interest and a number of prominent figures in stem cell research and regenerative medicine have already confirmed their participation. Amongst the keynote speakers for 2011 are Dr Alan Trounson of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Dr Gil Van Bokkelen, Chairman of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, and Dr Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For further information of the 7^th Annual Stem Cell Summit, please see the official website: www.worldstemcellsummit.com

Research Media are pleased to announce that they will be an official partner for this year’s event, where we will be distributing free copies of International Innovation – our publication dedicated to the dissemination of the latest science, research and technology.

Simon Jones, Director of Research Media states: “We at Research Media are thrilled to be an official partner of the European Innovation Summit 2011. Research clusters consisting of industry, SMEs and academia are essential for research, development and innovation, and we hope that the event will serve to highlight the most pressing and pertinent issues”.

This year’s event will be held from the 10-13 October, and will be split into two distinct parts: a summit in Brussels, for which President Jerzy Buzek has granted the patronage of the European Parliament, and a Ministerial Conference in Warsaw.

Organised by Knowledge4Innovation (K4I), a non-profit, independent multi-stakeholder platform with members from the European public, private and academic sectors, the event will adhere to the motto ‘Towards a European Innovation Ecosystem’. In Warsaw, the summit will focus on both adapting EU research and innovation policies in national and regional contexts, and increasing synergy between different policy areas. Furthermore, the Brussels-based activities will enable participants to examine the role of individuals –  and young talent in particular – in fostering innovation and addressing the challenges presented by funding.

In the past two years the event has proved to be a lynchpin in debates on the function, pitfalls and importance of supporting innovations, attracting some 2,000 innovation stakeholders and over 200 speakers, including the presidents of the European Parliament and the European Commission.

This year’s event promises to be just as engaging, with the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek; European Commissioner for Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn; and the U.S. Ambassador to the EU, William Kennard, already confirmed as but a few of the high profile speakers at this year’s summit.

With hot debate surrounding future European policy and budgets for European innovation initiatives, this event affords a timely and open forum to discuss the most pertinent issues for all involved.

For further information, see the official website: www.knowledge4innovation.eu/EIS/SitePages/eis2011_home.aspx

Could you begin by giving an overview of your work as Secretary of State for Health?

With new legislation, we have already put into effect our big reform concerning hospitals, patients’ health and districts, which has reorganised our health service at local and national levels. There is still a lot left to do, and I want to make the best of the time I am in office by taking forward the following particular issues, which seem to me to take priority:

• To commit ourselves to the target of setting the politics of medical treatment on a totally new footing, so that there will be no new ‘mediator’ affairs. Our mission is to assure the health of the French, who legitimately want to feel protected and secured. To this end, we must give them back their confidence in the links of the chain of our Health Service, which must guarantee competence, independence and transparency

• To dedicate all our efforts to local medical care, after launching a vast programme of modernisation of the hospitals. In fact, we must organise medical intervention better, as a top priority, for the French must be able to access healthcare in whichever corner of our country they find themselves. To that end, we need doctors who are best trained to meet this challenge and whose working conditions should be facilitating and simplified

• To modernise our psychiatric care, favouring a take-up procedure which is more adapted to the reality of patients’ lives and to their wishes – to encourage them to stick to the treatments which they have been prescribed. In this area, I am convinced that we should develop alternative take-up procedures; for example by utilising mobile teams to go out and meet the patients, we could help hospitalisation to be avoided at all costs

• To continue the fight against AIDS and Hepatitis

• To continue the fight against all forms of addiction: drugs, alcohol, tobacco, compulsive gambling

• To hold back the general lowering of the rate of vaccination, which has been observed on most types of vaccine

• To get French people back on track, with a view to protecting themselves and others

As you can see, the targets are numerous!

What are your hopes for progress emerging from BioVision 2011?

First of all, I am very happy that Lyon was the chosen setting for the 7th edition of this global event! Such conferences represent a rare opportunity to be able to get together so many internationally famous delegates to debate the big scientific, economic and social issues of the sciences of life. To take part in such an event is an opportunity to build oneself up, to share experiences and to rebalance our priorities around humanistic values which, in my opinion, should guide political action. It is also an opportunity to make strategic contacts bilaterally, for example with delegates such as Professor Zhu Chen, Chinese Minister for Health, and José Ángel Córdova, Mexican Minister for Health.

My wish is that we all succeed with our respective responsibilities in exchanging only profitable ideas, which will actually take place; ideas for projects which will see the light of day and follow through into concrete realities.

You mentioned the welcome presence of Chinese Minister for Health, Zhu Chen, at BioVision – what do you hope France and China can bring to each other’s perspectives on healthcare? Are there areas in which China can help guide best practice in health and healthcare-orientated research? Do you hope there will be more collaboration between China and France in healthcare in future?

Professor Zhu Chen is showing a keen interest in the French Hospital system, with a view to reforming the Chinese Health Service, and particularly the reform of public hospitals, to improve their management, quality and performance. France hopes to cooperate with China within the framework of this reform. Looking to put an experiment in place between French and Chinese hospitals, 17 partnerships (two for Shanghai) with 16 provinces will be finalised before the summer.

Other projects are being developed. For example, cooperation in public health was enriched recently between, on the French side, the Institute of Prevention and Health Education (INPES) and the watchdog Institute for Health (InVS) and, on the Chinese side, the National Health Education Center.

A delegation from the School of Higher Studies in Public Health (EHESP) also arrived in Beijing to work on the reform of public hospitals in China. And in France, we will welcome a delegation from Guangxi Medical University within the framework of creating a French-Chinese Masters degree in public health. The aspects of organising a symposium for specialist doctors will be covered; as well as laying on a training programme for hospital managers for 2011, with the possibility of broadening this for up to 20 managers on targeted topics.

A further meeting between Professor Zhu Chen and I is set to take place in China, so that we can make a plan, at the halfway mark, regarding the state of current partnerships, as well as to discuss potential collaborations in the future.

You recently launched a campaign against regular excessive drinking in France. How much of a problem is this and what cost does it represent to the French healthcare system? Do you think that this type of preventative campaign is both effective and value for money?

The social cost of alcohol in France is particularly high. It is the second highest cause of avoidable deaths, with 37,000 dying every year, as well as the primary cause of deaths on the road. In half of the fatal accidents on the road, the driver involved is found to have over the legal limit of alcohol in his blood. A related pattern applies with tobacco, being one of the principal causes of chronic pathology (cancer, cardiovascular diseases, etc).

Additionally, alcohol is responsible for 1.3 million stays in hospital per year, and annually, nearly 130,000 people seek help in specialist centres to be taken on for a problem concerning alcohol abuse (harmful consumption or dependancy).

Finally, alcohol is responsible for 15-20 per cent of accidents at work; and road accidents account for the principal cause of death at work; and in 40 per cent of these of cases, the presence of alcohol in the blood is above 0.5g/l.

For all these reasons, it seems to us that the prevention of alcohol dependency constitutes an action for the benefit of public health which is particularly cost-effective.

In 2008 and 2009, you were the French representative for ‘Women without borders’. In your view, are women sufficiently represented at the highest levels of healthcare governance and decision-making? What measures are you taking to ensure that they are?

Women are not yet sufficiently represented in instances of decision-making roles, no doubt because they must systematically demonstrate that they are more competent and perform better, in order to aspire to equivalent responsibilities to those of men. That said, society is evolving, fortunately! Equality is progressively being established in instances where responsibility is exercised. Women can, from now on, take on responsibilities which in the past were difficult for them to access.

Within a public hospital, for example, women represent 88 per cent of the administrative career pathway, but only 38 per cent amongst them are on the Board of Directors. One can observe as well that the proportion of women at the head of a hospital is reduced according to how the size of the establishment increases. But, we are making progress; we reached equality in 2008 in the top ranks of social and medico-social establishments, ie. members of the Board of Directors (50.4 per cent women). The taking-on of female students seeking promotion will influence the take-up of senior posts for the future. The objective is to achieve a rate of 40 per cent of women in management. For this to happen, the State must continue to raise awareness, and also to engage in voluntary participation, leading by example.

Thinking about BioVision within the context of the French healthcare system reforms you wish to implement, what impact will the event have? As a town counsellor in Lyon-sur-Saone, and regional counsellor for the Rhone-Alpes region, what benefits – economic or otherwise – does the forum offer your department?

To stage an international event in France is obviously an opportunity for us and, as I was saying, I am particularly happy that this should happen in Lyon, in the Rhone-Alpes. It is an unusual opportunity to promote and show off our know-how and our experts, at a national level, but also to benefit from what other partner nations bring to the event.

The Rhone-Alpes region brings together experts in their field. On the subject of public health, I am thinking for example of the Mérieux Foundation, with the production of vaccines. On the subject of research into health, one can quote the highly secure P4 laboratory. And let us not forget organic technology!

The BioVision event brings together over 2,500 participants in Lyon. How important is face-to-face meeting between life scientists from across the international community? Could you give us some examples of ways in which past events have influenced the direction of your work, or how it might this year?

As a politician of integrity, I know it is vital to exchange views with experts from the workplace, for scientific progress on the subject of health. This allows us to keep in touch with the grassroots, to measure the advances and new challenges which are opening up, and to better discern delays and difficulties. It is important in our realisation of what is at stake, and finally, in decision-making processes. Obviously, it also allows us to be inspired by good practices abroad. To see what goes on elsewhere causes us to question ourselves, and I find this very healthy. In my opinion, there can be no pertinent political decision-making without getting together for discussion, or continuing to question our convictions.

This event confirms the necessity of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, so that the fruits of health research can benefit the greatest number of people, no matter the country.

Ensuring Europe’s health

Recent events such as the BSE crisis, coupled with epidemiological risks related to AIDS, SARS, and the massive burden of the ageing population, are testament to the fact that need for cooperation at European level in public health has never been more crucial.

Based on a number of policies and treaties, the EU has a legal basis to intervene in the field of public health, thus ensuring a high level of protection. The Lisbon Treaty outlined the need to set high standards of quality and safety of medicines and medical devices. Against this backdrop, a new field of action now exists for the EU, aimed at improving the complementarity of Member State health services in border regions.

The measures taken by the EU should aim to improve public health, prevent diseases, and identify sources of danger to human health.

To carry out these objectives and improve national health systems, the EU encourages cooperation and coordination between Member States in these areas, focusing its action on:

• The fight against major epidemics and major diseases

• The fight against drugs

• The establishment of an information system and higher education

• Border health

• Consumer protection

• The integration of health into other policies

www.sante.gouv.fr

To begin, could you give an overview of the Health Directorate and its mission?

My Directorate supports the research community in improving European and global health and the competitiveness of European health-related industries and businesses. Our work contributes to the achievement of the aims of a variety of EU policies, including the headline policies of Europe 2020 and the Innovation Union.

We fund excellent and innovative research through the multi-annual Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development. Within FP7, the Seventh Framework Programme (2007–2013), Health Research has a budget of 6.1 billion euros.

The projects we fund are transnational and collaborative, meaning that FP7 Health brings together excellent teams of innovative researchers from different European and associated countries, as well as other international partners working in universities, research centres, hospitals, SMEs and large industries and associations.

The complementary range of skillsets and areas of expertise bring benefits to participants that they might not otherwise have access to: for example, projects can feature partners with expertise not only in knowledge creation and research, but also in knowledge exploitation and innovation.

The selection of projects to fund is conducted by a system of peer review, described by independent observers as an example of best practice that could also act as a model for many national research funding organisations. Our latest set of selected proposals will be added to the 564 research projects which have been already selected for funding in FP7.

FP7 has also seen the establishment of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) joint undertaking, which will receive over its lifetime a cash contribution of 1 billion euros from FP7 Health and 1 billion euros in kind from EFPIA (the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations) member companies. Through IMI, the European Union and the pharmaceutical industry have joined forces in order to boost investment in European bio-pharmaceutical R&D and to overcome bottlenecks in the development of innovative medicines – both goals of increasing importance given the current climate.

An example of the work done by IMI includes the unique collaboration in the area of psychiatric drug development, the NEWMEDS project (Novel Methods leading to NeW MEdications in Depression and Schizophrenia). In this remarkable and unprecedented collaboration, NEWMEDS have pooled resources to bring together data of 23,401 anonymised patients from 67 trials on 11 compounds in over 25 countries to form the single largest database of clinical trial data ever amassed in psychiatric research.

We also contribute to a Member State-driven joint initiative aiming to tackle neurodegenerative diseases. This so-called ‘joint programming’ initiative recognises the impact of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s disease, on an ageing European society, and aims to aid Member States in joining forces to establish a strategic research agenda to tackle the scientific, clinical and increasing societal challenges of these diseases which are set for a dramatic increase in prevalence.

We are also a joint funder of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), to accelerate the development of new clinical interventions to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In practice, that means stepping up cooperation and the networking of European national programmes; accelerating clinical trials of new products, in particular drugs and vaccines in developing countries; helping to develop and strengthen capacities in developing countries, including the promotion of technology transfer where appropriate; and encouraging the participation of the private sector and mobilising additional funds to fight these diseases, including funds from the private sector. The EDCTP will receive a total of 200 million euros from the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), with another 200 million pledged by Member States. A possible second EDCTP is currently under discussion with the Member States whose decision to continue the programme is just the first step in the process.

You previously served as Vice President of Research at VGX Pharmaceuticals (currently Inovio) and VGX Animal Health. What has this experience brought to your role at the European Commission? How has working as an inventor on more than 100 patents and patent applications helped you to understand and confront the issues of health research?

With the arrival of our new Commissioner, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the mandate of our Directorate General changed from what has been in the past ‘research’ to ‘research and innovation’. My experience in academia, in being one of the scientific founders of a small enterprise, being an inventor, and having taken new technologies from bench to commercial product has helped me better understand the needs of the scientific community and the process of innovation; consequently, I have been able to lead more efficiently and implement any necessary changes from both an organisational and thematic perspective.

What do you see as the main research priorities for the Health Directorate, and why?

This year, once again we have novel features in our work programme, including an emphasis on the participation of SMEs and on the funding of clinical trials. With the publication (19 July 2010) of our 2011 Work Programme (WP) and its corresponding calls for research proposals, we describe research topics which span the continuum from basic to translational research. Eight topics aim to support clinical trials to verify the safety and efficacy of various treatments and to promote the translation of research into clinical practice, each of which may result in several projects receiving up to 6 million euros. Successful projects will target results increasing therapeutic options for patients and will stimulate the implementation of best practice in Member States. Topics address issues as diverse as regenerative medicine, brain-related diseases, human development and ageing, antimicrobial drug resistance, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity, and off-patent medicines for children.

To what extent is the Commission recognising the potential of small and medium-sized enterprises in the European research landscape?

When you consider that the U.S. public expenditure on health research is three times as great as that of the EU Member States and FP7 combined, SMEs are crucial for the innovation strategy of the EU. SMEs are the engines for innovation and growth. Thus, in line with the research and innovation approach, the work programme also features eight SME-targeted collaborative projects, requiring the strong involvement (usually a minimum of 30 per cent) of such enterprises. In addition, two ambitious ‘high impact’ research initiatives in immunisation and in epi-genomics with up to 30 million euros of EU funding, require that 15 per cent of the contribution will go to SMEs. They address the spectrum of research from knowledge generation to translational research and product development, as well as education and training.

Until now we have 735 SME participations in FP7 health research which have received a total of 246 million euros. The policy objective of FP7 health is to contribute approximately 900 million euros to SMEs. Therefore, the 2011 WP has a strong focus on SME-targeted topics; in 2012 and 2013, WPs are expected to reinforce support for innovative SMEs. A recent survey of all participants in FP6 and FP7 projects shows that about 800 SMEs have been created in the frame of EU-funded health research since 2002. Subsequent years will see investment continuing to be directed at SMEs, but also at the priorities of brain and ageing research in particular, thereby addressing the challenges posed by an ageing European population.

Given the global health challenges we face, the need for international cooperation has never been more pressing. By what means are you extending financial support to facilitate this?

114 countries already participate in ongoing FP7 health research projects. This is 30 per cent more than in FP6. In addition to the activities undertaken by the EDCTP project discussed earlier, the Health theme of FP7 promotes cooperation with international partners with the possibility of involving partners from any part of the world – in most cases with EU funding. For example, the recent coordinated FP7-Africa-2010 call for proposals addresses research aspects of the Africa-EU strategic partnership. A number of health research projects will be funded, each featuring a minimum of two partners from African countries.

The Health theme of FP7 is open to cooperation with partners from many non-European countries. Specifically targeted cooperation with other regions of the world includes the Mediterranean, Russia, and India and may in the future feature Brazil, China, Latin America and areas with clear European and global added value. In these targeted cases, FP7 funds are occasionally, but not necessarily, set aside to fund partners from these countries directly, but funding of European partners is conditional on their cooperating with non-European researchers, following agreement between the relevant funding agencies to publish similar calls for proposals in what is known as ‘programme-level’ cooperation.

How is the Health Directorate responding to EU policy needs? Are you involved with the support and follow-up of Community policies?

As evidenced in the answers above, the Health Directorate strongly supports innovation. A recent survey of all participants in FP6 and FP7 demonstrated that EU health research grants have a significant impact on innovation. Since 2002 more than 4,000 patent applications and 60,000 publications have been generated.

Just as all countries, everywhere in the world, are confronted with health challenges, all countries potentially stand to benefit when major breakthroughs are made. As one of the world leaders in health research, how are you ensuring that you are not only encouraging international cooperation to achieve such breakthroughs, but are connected to cutting-edge research around the world? By what means do you encourage this collaboration aside from research and financial incentives? Could you provide some examples of where this has been achieved?

This is certainly true and we are actively participating in several high-level gatherings which aim at coordinating research efforts to maximise the impact. I can mention for example the group of Heads of International Research Organisations (HIRO), where health research funding agencies from several key countries meet regularly and plan common action. Furthermore, we are involved in a number of disease or technology-specific working groups where joint activities are discussed. One of our tasks is to create new such groups in areas where a substantial level of funding is needed and international coordination is lacking. As examples of such ‘programme level cooperation’ I can mention the several activities in genomics, most recently in epigenetics, and the initiation of cooperation in population research on diabetes as well as on rare diseases. In addition to these multilateral programme level cooperations, we are also pursuing bilateral cooperation with individual countries such as the BRIC countries and Mexico, Egypt and Australia. In all those cases the participating countries contribute funding to their own researchers. I believe that this is the best model for such internationally co-funded common efforts, and that the administrative and legal framework should be kept as simple as possible. We have enough red tape and bureaucracy; consequently, the focus should be on the research and its outcomes.

Please note that the European Commission is not affiliated with this publication and the opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect its position or opinion.

http://ec.europa.eu/research/health/news-biography_en.html