General information

Infectious Diseases Unit

The Infectious Diseases Unit within Research Directorate General is funding research aimed at combating the three major killer diseases (HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria).

Our work has two components:

a) Developing new promising candidate vaccines and therapies, sponsoring research on the full spectrum from basic molecular research through preclinical tests and proof-of-principle on Poverty-related Diseases: Detailed descriptions of the specific themes, calls and proposal submission dates are specified in the different calls for proposals and can be found on the main website, Europa:http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp6/index_en.cfm or more information via CORDIS http://cordis.europa.eu/fp6/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.FP6HomePage

b) Contributing to the EDCTP initiative: While the EDCTP is part of the overall strategy to poverty-related diseases and is funded under FP6, activities supported by the EDCTP are not part of the calls released by the Commission. Instead, the EDCTP operates through a separate legal entity, the European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG), which has its own guidelines, including calls for proposals and appropriate selection and evaluation procedures.
EDCTP is aimed at supporting phase II and phase III clinical trials of new promising candidates in sub-Saharan Africa. See the main website: http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp6/edctp/index_en.html

We recommend to potential participants to check carefully if their proposals fit within the scope of the priority topics mentioned in each call. RTD-F3 unit:http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp6/calls_en.cfm or via CORDIS http://cordis.europa.eu/fp6/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.FP6HomePage

Developing Countries

The participation of research institutions from developing countries is highly encouraged within the Sixth Framework Programme. Such participation is particularly justified in the context of research activities to confront the major communicable diseases linked to poverty, which are endemic in these countries and heavily affecting their populations. It is worth noting that proposals must be submitted by consortia composed of a minimum of three legal entities from 3 different Member States or Associated States, with at least 2 Member States or Associated Candidate Countries.

EDCTP – European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership

Report on the activities of the EDCTP by the EDCTP Independent External Review:

• Press Release - Expert group on research programme for clinical trials in Africa calls for greater Member State commitment to coordinating research
• EDCTP IER report (PDF 998 KB)
• Press Release - HIV/AIDS infected children can now benefit from a European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership-funded trial

The EDTCP is a research programme for the development of new medical products, microbiocides and vaccines to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis at sub-Saharian Africa. It focuses on phase II/III clinical trials for the three diseases and is tailored to the specific needs of Developing Countries.