EuroNanoMed (ENM) is an ERA-NET on Nanomedicine established since 2008 as a platform for funding agencies and ministries to coordinate research and innovation programmes with the goal of creating and funding collaborative research and innovation projects that can convert research in nanotechnology into practical gains in medicine.

Call Objectives:  EuroNanoMed aims (i) to support translational research projects that combine innovative approaches in the field of nanomedicine and (ii) to encourage and enable transnational collaboration between public and private research groups from academia, clinical/public health research or research teams from industrial enterprises (all size). The participation of Medical Doctors and SMEs will be strongly encouraged.

Call Options: Project proposals will address multidisciplinary and translational research. Project proposals will need to cover at least one of the following areas that are equal in relevance for this call:

1- Regenerative medicine

2- Diagnostics

3- Targeted delivery systems

At the end, projects should fall within, but are not limited to, Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)[1] 3-6, although for being realistic and coherent with the characteristics of the call, projects should propose advancements for a maximum of two TRL levels during their lifetime.

For a better understanding of the objectives and a more efficient evaluation, applicants are asked to specify to which of the two categories described below the project falls, according to its TRL, degree of innovation and expected time to market:

A) REGULAR COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS

This refers to projects with duration from 24 to 36 months. At the end, projects should fall within, but are not limited to, Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3-6, although for being realistic and coherent with the characteristics of the call, projects should propose advancements for a maximum of two TRL levels during their lifetime.

1) Innovation applied research projects: Proof of concept projects for innovative applications with analytical/experimental research and/or implementation and integration of components and test in laboratory and/or animal models. Safety and nanotoxicity should be taken into account when relevant. The viability of a path that may lead the experimental and/or analytical results (for TRL 3) and/or demonstrators (for TRL 4) to a future application at medium/long term shall also be demonstrated.

2) Projects with high potential of applicability at short/medium term: Projects closer to the market for the validation of demonstrators and prototypes in a realistic laboratory (for TRL 5) and/or relevant simulated operational field environment (for TRL-6). The viability of a path that may lead the validated systems and results to real products shall be demonstrated. Industrial engagement is crucial in this type of projects. Medical regulatory aspects have to be properly considered.

SHORT COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS

This refers to shorter projects with duration from 12 to 24 months. In this modality, projects with TRLs as described for regular collaborative projects (ending at TRLs 3-6) can be included, but the 12th call for funding will also consider activities at a very early stage of turning research outputs into a commercially or socially valuable proposition.

For both modalities proposals may include, but are not limited to: identification, characterisation and validation of biomarkers, early diagnosis, convergence of nanotechnology and stem cell technology, cell biology applied to nanomedicine, multimodal imaging agents or techniques, point of care diagnostics (on site sensors), standardised procedures for preparation & characterisation of drug delivery systems, regenerative, gene or cell therapies using nanotechnology and development and use of nanomaterials for medical purposes. Pre-clinical and early clinical studies are eligible subject to national/regional regulations.

Proposals must clearly demonstrate:

- potential health impact and/or economic impact

- added-value of transnational collaboration

- FAIR principles (data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable)

- Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) principles

Duration: 12-36 months

Budget:

Eligible costs and funding provisions may vary according to the respective funding organisation's regulations. Applicants must refer and adhere to their own specific national regulations and scientific remits as detailed in the National Announcements. Clarification may be obtained from the individual funding organisations. The national contributions are as follows: Belgium - €200,000; Bulgaria - €205,000; Czech Republic - €750,000; Israel - €300,000; Egypt - €400,000; Estonia - €100,000; France - €2.5 million; Italy - €1 million; Latvia - €420,000, Lithuania - €100,000 - €150,000; Poland - €1.2 million (€600,000 for regular projects, €600,000 for short projects); Romania - €500,000; Slovakia - €120,000; Spain - €1 million (plus €500,000 for companies only); Taiwan - €500,000; Turkey - €450,000

Eligibilty

Proposals must involve a minimum of three and a maximum of five eligible partners from at least three different countries participating in a Call. No more than two eligible partners from the same country will be accepted in one consortium. Applicants are advised to first check which countries and funding agencies are participating in a specific Call.

 In addition, research group(s) from at least two of the following categories must be included:

- Academia (research teams working in universities, other higher education institutions or research institutes).

- Clinical/public health sector (research teams working in hospitals/public health and/or other health care settings and health organisations) including participation of medical doctors.

- Enterprise (all sizes of private companies) including small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).

- Each member of the consortia must meet the relevant national/regional funding regulations. Applicants are strongly advised to contact their national representatives as soon as possible in order to confirm their eligibility.

- Research groups not eligible to be funded (eg from non-funding countries or not fundable according to national/regional regulations of the participating funding countries) may participate in transnational projects if they are able to secure their own funding.

The maximum number of partners may be increased if partners from the following participating countries are included: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Taiwan, and Turkey.

Participating Countries: Belgium; Bulgaria; Canada (Quebec); Czech Republic, Egypt; Estonia; France; Germany; Greece; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Romania; Slovakia; Spain; Taiwan; Turkey.

There is a two-stage submission process. Applicants are strongly advised to contact their national representative as soon as possible in order to confirm their eligibility with their respective funding organisations.

Pre-proposals must be submitted using the electronic proposal submission link.

The 12th Joint Transnational Call for Proposals (JTC2021) opened on 16 November 2020 with a deadline for submission of pre-proposals of 21 January 2021 (17:00 CET).

In case of interest, please contact lnorton(ELIMINAR)@fsjd.org