More than a billion people globally continue to suffer from infectious, poverty-related, and neglected diseases (PRNDs) due to severe gaps in affordable, effective health technologies. Closing these gaps requires sustained investments in clinical trials, local capacity building, and long-term scientific collaboration.
For over two decades, the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) has served as the cornerstone of European support for clinical research on infectious diseases. It has made an impact by supporting, among other things, the development of the first and second malaria vaccines, new rapid tuberculosis diagnostic tools, and new patient-friendly treatments for sleeping sickness.
Global Health Advocates (GHA) is proud to support a new policy paper produced by our partners DSW, examining how the EU can build upon EDCTP’s proven track record as it develops its future Research and Development (R&D) programmes.
Ensuring a strong continuation of EDCTP beyond its current iteration (EDCTP3) is vital for several key reasons:
- Bridging the clinical gap: EDCTP fills a critical market void by funding Phase I–IV clinical trials for health tools that commercial R&D pipelines often overlook, ensuring essential diagnostics, vaccines, and treatments reach clinical testing.
- Fostering true North-South equity: By co-funding projects and building local expertise alongside African institutions, the partnership delivers on the commitments of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda and reinforces joint ownership in health security.
- Advancing EU strategic goals: Supporting global health R&I reinforces European scientific competitiveness while fulfilling core objectives outlined in the EU Global Health Strategy.
To maintain momentum and safeguard progress against poverty-related diseases, the paper outlines 4 key recommendations for an ambitious EDCTP4:
- Guarantee long-term funding: The EDCTP4 budget should be increased to at least €2 billion, with €1 billion in funding from the EU in the next Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF). EU Member States should at a minimum sustain their €550 million contribution, while increasing the share of cash contributions.
- Address evolving and persisting gaps: Reinforce the role of EDCTP within the EU’s health security architecture; ensure it addresses current innovation gaps against vector-borne diseases whose spread is accelerated by climate change; and strengthen its invaluable contribution to advancing the inclusive participation of underrepresented populations in clinical trials.
- Foster complementarity with other instruments and frameworks: Improve collaboration with Global Europe, HERA, multilateral initiatives, and others; make increased use of EDCTP as an integration mechanism to coordinate and build synergies between different national R&D agendas and activities.
- Respond to the needs of researchers, end-users, and patients: Ensure EDCTP is fit to support researchers and product developers, including not-for-profit Product Development Partnerships (PDPs), expanding on portfolio funding pilots tested under the current programme. Furthermore, defend the principles of open science, transparency, and equitable partnerships between EU and AU actors, while protecting EDCTP’s access conditionalities to ensure products developed are appropriate, available, and affordable to populations disproportionately
We urge EU decision-makers to take these recommendations into account when developing the proposal for the future Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe (2028–2034).
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