Horizon Europe allocates €123M to fight new variants of the coronavirus

According to the new biodefence plan, HERA Incubator, projects with clinical trials will receive funds to fight new COVID-19 variants. Find out about Zabala’s experience in project management related to health.

April 8, 2021
European project funding

New Horizon Europe funding to fight variant coronaviruses is now available with a worth of €123 million. As announced a few days ago, the European Commission is mobilising the funding for urgent research on coronavirus variants. The funding is dedicated to fight against COVID-19 and it also contributes to Europe’s overall action to respond to the impact that new variants are having on society, all being in line with the new HERA Incubator scheme. The calls will open on the 13th of April and the deadline for submission will be on the 6th of May 2021.

Following the Commission’s announcement, the EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth stressed: “We continue to mobilise all the means at our disposal to fight this pandemic and the challenges posed by new variants.”

Funded projects should meet some of the following objectives:

Establish new large-scale working groups, reaching even beyond Europe’s borders.
Further develop promising experimental therapies or vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.
Sustain research infrastructures to accelerate data sharing and provide rapid research support and expertise.

Success stories in health project management

Health is one of the areas of knowledge in which Zabala has the greatest expertise, something that is particularly valuable in this period of the global pandemic we are facing. We have experience in the management of different projects involving clinical trials. Among others, Zabala is involved in the management of the HIVACAR project, which aims to change the current paradigm of HIV treatment by obtaining a functional cure. It has a budget of almost 7 million euros, has 14 partners and is part of the Horizon 2020 programme.

We also collaborate in the DOCTIS project, which aims to improve the efficacy of the treatment of six immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The project involves 10 partners and has a funding of €6 million.