On Tuesday 17 February, the European Commission launched ‘BE READY’, a new European partnership for pandemic preparedness, coordinated by the French agency ANRS-Infectious Emerging Diseases (ANRS MIE).
For a period of ten years, ‘BE READY’ has been created to meet this challenge by putting in place a coordinated and sustainable research network that keeps critical capabilities operational even outside periods of crisis. It aims to ensure that Europe can generate the data needed to respond more quickly and coherently to future epidemics and pandemics through a well-coordinated approach. To achieve this, the partnership will accelerate research to develop and evaluate medical countermeasures, including diagnostics, treatments and vaccines, and will produce up-to-date data to inform public health decision-making.
‘BE READY’ will receive €120 million in EU funding. It will bring together 81 organisations from 27 countries. The first joint transnational call will be launched with 21 funding organisations and will focus on research aiming for a better understanding of the pandemic potential of emerging pathogens and developing innovative medical countermeasures. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)