"The topic ""Health"" is one of the main policies of the European Union (EU). The national authorities are responsible for organizing and providing health care and the task of the EU is to complement the national policies. Health also has an important impact on economic prosperity. Concrete EU measures include the development of tools to help EU countries to work together and identify best practices. In Germany a large number of health networks and health regions have been established in recent years and also Austria knows the benefits of the concept of regional health networks. Health regions describe themselves often as geographically defined clusters that aim to ensure a coordinated health and social care of the population through a network of all stakeholders involved in the supply process. On this background Com.HeNet will develop tools, which help EU countries to work together and identify the merger of the players or stakeholders into a ""Health Network"" (HN) as a process in which the improvement of and the access to health of the citizens in the different living environments in a specifiable region is focussed, as good practice.Aim of the project is to develop curriculum modules for ""Health Network Management"" (HNM) with a European standard, which enables a professional in health to implement and manage a HN on regional level. To get an efficient overview about the needed competences for this HN manager and the given structural and environmental circumstances, these competences will be analysed by desktop research and structured/guided interviews with relevant stakeholders and experts in the participating countries and envolved into national competence profiles. On basis of the national competence profiles a core competence profile will be developed for a HNM through comparison of all collected information and a collation with relevant European Competence Frameworks and European Qualification Framework (EQF). Furthermore an important objective are the curriculum modules on EQF level 6 with content and materials on basis of the developed core competence profile. These curriculum modules will be tested by a pilot training with participants presenting the later target groups and will be reviewed on basis of the pilot training and the feedback. Further on, an important objective of Com.HeNet is the description of a Data Management System and the development of a guideline for digital skills and competences, on basis and with the use of the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp 2.1), which both will be used for the development of the curriculum modules, as an independent Output of the project and for the implementation and the later management of the HN by the managers. These are important aspects, because of the proceeding digitalization and the significance of the use of digital data and information for improving health care and prevention of people. Therefore these Outputs also will flow into the development of the curriculum modules. The curriculum modules as important Ouput of the project are expected to get included into higher education and vocational education curricula to enable professionals in health to implement and manage HN on regional level in EU countries. On the longer run the project contributes to the improvement of the regional supply structures in EU countries. In this way Com.HeNet contributes to the EU Health Strategy. Therefore the curriculum modules have an explicit European added value and will contribute to overcome the mismatch between given and needed competences in health sector across the EU.Long term aim of the project is the further cooperation of the project partners, the participating stakeholders and experts. The long-term presentation and dissemination of the curriculum modules are of great importance for all project partners. Furthermore the consortium will check the possibilities for further cooperation projects for an implementation of regional HN in several partner countries on basis of the developed curriculum modules and the digital competence guideline. Therefore the partners need a strong, trustful and efficient network on regional, national and European level."

The ELR SCAR project aims to complete preclinical validation of a novel biomaterial, an elastin-like recombinant (ELR) hydrogel, to prevent scar tissue formation in the heart following myocardial infarction (MI), commonly called a heart attack. MI is the endpoint of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). In Europe, the highest rates of IHD worldwide equal ~26.5 million patients. Standards of care interventions after MI have serious limitations in treatment efficacy (many patients are still at risk of developing heart failure) and patient safety. There is a clear medical need for new treatment solutions that prevent scar tissue formation and irreversible cardiac remodelling. Our robust preclinical dataset so far indicates that the ELR hydrogel has this promising functionality via multiple unique characteristics: it provides selective cell adhesion to the endocardium, providing a barrier to scar tissue formation; it offers high biospecificity to the ischaemic microenvironment, and it has an enhanced biodegradability, allowing for safe disintegration in the body. To facilitate endocardial delivery of the ELR hydrogel, we will develop a minimally invasive endocardial catheter in this project. Both components (hydrogel + catheter) will be advanced to the preparedness level for a first-in-human (FIH) validation study for the application as therapeutic intervention post-MI (to be performed after the project). In addition, we will develop the regulatory and IPR strategies in preparation for this clinical validation step. Considering the high societal impact of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and MI, we will also develop a solid health economic evaluation of possible savings and patient benefits. ELR-SCAR will transform and fundamentally improve clinical practice, resulting in reducing the enormous burden that MI and its leading cause, IHD, place on society and the individual patient.

Stem Cell therapy in IschEmic Non-treatable Cardiac diseasE (SCIENCE) With more than 17 million deaths worldwide each year, ischemic heart disease (IHD) caused by coronary artery disease is the most common cause of death and a major cause of hospital admissions in industrialised countries. IHD caused over four million deaths in Europe in the year 2012 constituting 47% of all deaths. Today IHD is the main cause of death among women throughout Europe and the main cause of death among men in all but six European countries. Conventional therapies have reduced mortality of IHD significantly, but have left an increasing number of patients with chronic IHD and/or heart failure without further treatment options. An increasing morbidity rate of this nature in an ageing population is a huge burden for society. The overall aim of the SCIENCE project is to implement an effective stem cell-based therapy with allogeneic adipose derived stromal cells to improve myocardial function in patients with ischemic heart disease and heart failure. This goal will be achieved by conducting a multicentre clinical trial in a strong consortium of experienced international scientists and experts as well as significant representatives of the biomedical industry within translational medicine and a close collaboration with relevant authorities. The consortium will ensure feasibility of treatment by simplifying and rationalising cell production and distribution using state-of-the art manufacturing technology that makes cell therapy a realistic option for clinical practise. The consortium expects the SCIENCE project to pave the way for future approval of this treatment by national authorities throughout Europe as the standard form of care for patients with ischemic heart disease and heart failure. This concept will establish a new platform for growth and consolidation of innovative small and medium-size companies within stem cell research and development. Such a platform will ease implementati