All the sectors involved in the fight against cancer have met at the Carlos III Health Institute to begin articulating the Spanish participation in Horizon Europe.
Acting Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Pedro Duque, has closed the first information meeting on the European mission in cancer, which will be one of the five research missions in the next European R & D & I framework program, Europe Horizon. The 'missions' have the objective of establishing great initiatives with a high transforming impact on citizenship.
The 'missions', as conceived in the new framework program, are defined very broadly (at the level of society, economy, environment, etc …) and will involve multiple types of interventions, in addition to research and the innovation. To a large extent, the success of the missions will be based on the capacity for coordination, complementarity and synergy of the different types of interventions, in their different phases.
The ministries of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIU) and of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare (MSCBS), have organized this meeting in the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) . In addition to the minister, the day has had the participation of the general secretary of Coordination of Scientific Policy, Rafael Rodrigo and the general secretary of Health and Consumption, Faustino Blanco.
In his speech, the minister highlighted the role of Spain in the current framework program, Horizon 2020, where it has been ranked as the fourth country that has received most subsidies so far, behind Germany, the United Kingdom and France. Spain, moreover, is the country that leads the most projects. Duque has highlighted the progress made in the field of health, although the returns have not yet reached the Spanish average, which is 10%.
The minister also highlighted the strength of the National Health System and the research and innovation that is being carried out in this area in research centers and institutes, factors that have placed Spain as the healthiest country in the world and with one of the more efficient systems.
Information about the Cancer Mission
Spain has very high scientific capacities in this area, but to obtain the best results it has been considered necessary to design an action plan that encourages the multidisciplinary and multisectoral participation of all the actors involved, both in the scientific aspects, as well as in the health, economic, regulatory and social This strategic planning, in addition to helping prepare the ground for the new framework program of R & D, Horizon Europe, and increase the possibilities of financing in Spain, will provide valuable elements for our own health and scientific system.
The Carlos III Health Institute, for the scope of this mission, and in accordance with the competencies and double functional dependency of the body, will play a fundamental role as a facilitator of synergies and the backbone of Spanish participation.
The European Commission plans to select five Directors Committees ("Mission Boards") to define future integrated missions in Horizon Europe. In addition to the cancer committee, there will be four others for the following areas: climate change, smart cities, food and healthy crops, and health of seas, oceans, coasts and interiors.
Representatives of the ministries, research funding bodies (AEI, CDTI, ISCIII), researchers (health research institutes, CIBER, CNIO, CSIC, and other cancer research centers), scientific societies have been invited to this first information meeting. , patient associations and platforms, foundations of scientific philanthropy and pharmaceutical industry.