The VHT Roadmap is due – in its final version – by the end of the EDITH Coordination and Support Action (i.e., September 2024). The present document is the first draft of the Roadmap, This preliminary version of the Roadmap was planned in EDITH’s Grant Agreement as an initial contribution to the internal decision-making process of the European Commission. It has the declared purpose of allowing the Commission to start specifying already at an early stage by what steps the goal of pursuing the development of a VHT-based healthcare will be likely to trigger an effective engagement of Europe’s researchers, clinicians, industries, and regulators. This interim version is therefore meant to highlight what is currently the envisioned structure of what will be in a year time the final roadmap and its main contents, leaving open the possibility that these contents can still be subject to both substantial and formal changes, in response to suggestions coming from both the European Commission and from different sectors of the broadening community of practice that the EDITH CSA is addressing. In consideration of these double-edge purposes, this preliminary draft aims to capture the main concepts and the overall approach of the VHT Roadmap, while also identifying relevant challenges (from the perspective of research, infrastructure, and other specific aspects) that need to be addressed in the remaining year of the EDITH CSA (and beyond) and which will require further analysis, with the support of the whole VHT Community. For the technology, standards, regulatory, and legal aspects, the draft provides an overview of the state of the art and an analysis of VHT-specific needs, without determining as yet any conclusive choice. Given the evolving nature of this document, the submitted text will again be made publicly available for further comments and feedback, in view of possibly including valuable inputs in a next version. For general discussions, we encourage everyone to use the slack channel on the In silico World Community of Practice (ISW_CoP: https://insilico.world/community/join-the-community-of-practice-channels/). Critical remarks are welcome, as well as additional contributions, but also comments highlighting what sections are particularly appreciated will definitely help. if you would like to stay updated on EDITH's progress, you can enter your details via the contact form on the website: https://www.edith-csa.eu/contact/

EDITH is a Coordination and Support Action funded by the European Commission under the Digital Europe Programme under grant agreement n. 101083771.