First European research strategy on neurodegenerative diseases gets underway
Some of the world's top neurodegenerative disease
experts gathered in Stockholm, Sweden on 15 April to start working on a
pan-European research agenda that will guide the work of the new Joint
Programme on Neurodegenerative Diseases (JPND). The JPND is the first
Joint Programming initiative to get underway, and its launch marks a
step change in the way research is funded and coordinated in Europe.
Currently, just 15% of public research funds in the EU are
administered at the European level; the remaining 85% is handed out
through numerous national programmes. Although many of these national
schemes share much in common, there is hardly any coordination between
them. The aim of Joint Programming is to link up national schemes
tackling issues that are of European or global importance. By pooling
resources, the programmes will reduce duplication and make research more
efficient. Countries join the programmes on an entirely voluntary
basis; the European Commission's role is to facilitate and coordinate
activities.
Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases form the focus of
the first Joint Programming scheme, and 24 European countries have
already signed up to the initiative. Treating neurodegenerative diseases
already costs European health services some EUR 72 billion annually.
There are few treatments for these conditions and those that are
available tend to treat the symptoms rather than the underlying cause.
Many of these diseases are linked to age, and the proportion of the
European population aged over 65 is likely to rise to 25% by 2030 (from
16% today). The incidence of these conditions, as well as the social and
financial costs of treating them, is therefore likely to rise in the
coming years.
The aim of the JPND is to rapidly enhance our understanding of the
causes of neurodegenerative diseases. As well as providing doctors with
tools to diagnose and treat these conditions from the earliest stages,
the JPND should also result in better medical and social care systems
for both patients and their carers.
The JPND's Management Board is already in place, and the Scientific
Advisory Board, which comprises 15 experts from the fields of basic,
clinical and social/healthcare research, will meet for the first time in
Stockholm.
As well as starting work on the preparation of short-, medium- and
long-term research agendas, the Scientific Advisory Board will also
elect a chair and vice-chair in the Swedish capital city. Management
Board Chair Professor Philippe Amouyel of the University Hospital of
Lille, France hopes that his colleagues in the Scientific Advisory Board
will come up with a small number of major topics before the end of
2010. The full research agenda should be ready in 2011.
Professor Amouyel expects the agenda to be like a menu; countries
participating in the JPND will pick items of interest to them and decide
on the best way of coordinating their activities in that area. 'Once a
priority has been defined and chosen, the first thing is to see what
already exists,' Professor Amouyel told CORDIS News.
In some cases, existing initiatives may be linked up, while other
topics may require the establishment of new initiatives. Joint calls for
proposals may be issued, and Professor Amouyel believes that some
countries could be willing to fund researchers from other countries.
'Everything is open and possible,' he said.
'Success relies on the shared view that pooling knowledge,
infrastructure, funding calls, as well as creating critical mass with
coherent, multidisciplinary approaches, will deliver the best scientific
objectives and answers,' he added. 'By doing this we will optimise
research investment in neurodegenerative disease across Europe.'
'Thanks to this Joint Programme, the best European medical
researchers will be working together and pooling resources to help the
millions of people who suffer from Alzheimer's and other
neurodegenerative diseases,' commented European Commissioner for
Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.
'By making research more efficient and avoiding duplication of work,
the Joint Programme will increase the prospects of real progress in
preventing and treating these diseases. The lessons learned from this
Joint Programme will then be used to inform research efforts in other
areas.'
The JPND is viewed as a kind of pilot for Joint Programming. Further
schemes are already in the pipeline, and Professor Amouyel explained
that he and his team were already in communication with people working
on other Joint Programming schemes. 'We are already transferring
information on ways of working, organising ourselves and identifying
topics,' he noted.
For more information, please visit:
Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease (JPND)
Source: Community R&D Information Service (CORDIS)