Carotid artery disease, the primary trigger of ischaemic cerebrovascular events including stroke, causes major morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs worldwide. Still, treatment is based on criteria established in the 90s that do not take into account the molecular evolution we have witnessed since, nor the introduction of new medication, leading to remarkably high unnecessary surgical treatment while missing most patients at risk. TAXINOMISIS will provide novel disease mechanism-based stratification for carotid artery disease patients to address the needs for stratified and personalised therapeutic interventions in the current era. This will be achieved through (1) the dissection of mechanisms mediating carotid artery disease, and identification of susceptibility and protection factors of plaque erosion and/or rupture using longitudinal cohorts and multi-omics, (2) the definition of distinct disease phenotypes and endotypes, and generation of molecular fingerprints of high versus low-risk states through systems medicine, (3) the development of a multilevel risk prediction model of the symptomatic plaque incorporating new biomarkers and advanced imaging, implemented in a software, to assist patient stratification and clinical decision making, (4) the development of novel pharmacogenomics solutions based on lab-on-a-chip technology to support personalized treatment, (5) the evaluation of the new risk prediction model and lab-on-a-chip device in a prospective observational clinical study, and (6) the assessment of regulatory, cost-effectiveness and ethical issues towards the implementation and commercialization of the programme’s outcomes. TAXINOMISIS has therefore the potential to rationally change the current state-of-the-art in the stratification of patients with carotid artery disease by reducing unnecessary operations, refining medical treatment and opening up new avenues for therapeutic intervention, while strengthening the European biotechnology sector.

SoNAR-Global is a global consortium led by social scientists specializing in emerging infectious diseases (EID) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It will build a sustainable international social science network to engage the active participation of social sciences and promote complementarity and synergy in the governance of prevention and response to infectious threats and AMR. As such, it will become an integral part of emergency response. Partnering with major international and regional institutions, it will lead activities through a program that builds governance from the ground up. It will: • Develop an open-access platform to support the SoNAR-Global activities and to share them broadly. • Adapt, test, and evaluate vulnerability assessment tools on the ground and engagement models to facilitate collaboration across multiple stakeholders. • Create, pilot, and evaluate curricula for training social scientists in preparedness and response to infectious threats and through curricular development and piloting social science knowledge of infectious threats among non-social sciences actors.

COMPAR-EU aims to identify, compare, and rank the most effective and cost-effective self-management interventions (SMIs) for adults in Europe within four high-priority chronic conditions: type 2 diabetes, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart failure. This project addresses an important gap in current knowledge applying network meta-analysis, an extension of meta-analysis methodology that allows multiple (rather than pairwise) comparisons of intervention effectiveness, to randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that meet the study inclusion criteria. This centralised analysis of an estimated 4000 RCTs will substantially help to overcome current problems associated with the dispersion and duplication of evidence. The work will be based on a validated taxonomy of SMIs and will prioritise outcomes from the patients’ perspective. In addition, a cost-effectiveness of the most effective SMIs will be estimated to provide insights into the economic consequences of adopting SMIs for societies, healthcare budgets, and patients. Contextual factors associated with successful interventions will also be studied. Drawing on our results, we will develop and pilot decision-making tools to facilitate access to evidence-based information on the most effective SMIs to key users through a user-friendly interactive platform. A multiprong strategy for exploitation of the research findings will lead to clear business cases for implementing it in different contexts within the heterogeneous EU health system. The end goal of the project is to have an impact in supporting policy-makers, guideline developers, researchers, industry, professionals and patients to make informed decisions on the identification and implementation of the most suitable SMIs, therefore contributing to the diffusion of the knowledge, healthcare sustainability and equity and promoting EU competitiveness in a globally emerging market.

EUonQoL aims to develop, pilot and validate the EUonQoL-Kit, a patient-driven, unified system for the assessment of quality of life (QoL) based on evaluations and preferences of cancer patients and survivors. The EUonQoL-Kit will be developed from a patient perspective, administered digitally, available in the EU27 and Associated countries languages, and applicable in future, periodic surveys to contribute to the EU’s mission on cancer. At the core of the EUonQoL there is the adoption of a multistakeholder, co-design methodology, engaging patient representatives, healthcare professionals, administrators, policymakers, and citizens in all project related activities. Existing QoL tools will be reviewed, scoping all relevant sources. This review will be used in the context of the codesign consensus with stakeholders’ and patients’ preferences to identify gaps and establish all QoL dimensions that are relevant from the perspectives of patients, clinicians, and society. A multidisciplinary researcher panel, composed by the most talented experts, will develop the EUonQoL-Kit that will be validated in a pilot survey using digital data collection within month 24 of the project. A total of 4,000 cancer patients and survivors will be enrolled through a network of EU cancer centers. An analysis of factors potentially impacting on cancer patients and survivors QoL, will also be performed. Implementation and exploitation strategies, as well as the linkage with other Cancer Mission projects and actions will be explored to develop future periodic surveys. EUonQoL is composed by research institutions, cancer centers, as well as scientific, professional, and patient representative organizations involved in cancer research, all with extensive experience and robust scientific background in the development of self-report QoL measures.This partnership fuels the ambition of EUonQoL to translate QoL information into future changes in cancer care policy and clinical practice.