During these two days, researchers, clinicians, patient representatives, public health experts and policymakers from across Europe are gathering in Brussels for the annual meeting of the PROACT EU-Response project. This meeting marked an important milestone for the project, bringing together partners to review progress made during the first 18 months and discuss priorities for the years ahead. Participants explored topics ranging from adaptive platform trials and clinical trial networks to laboratory preparedness, social sciences, and community involvement.
The first day began with a handover ceremony and two highly inspiring speeches from Professor Yazdan Yazdanpanah and Professor Karine Lacombe, coordinators of the EU-Response project and PROACT EU-Response respectively. As KarineLacombe introduced: « We are not just closing a project and opening another one. We are marking a transition between two phases of a single, shared endeavour: building a Europe that is scientifically ready, operationally prepared, and socially committed to facing the pandemics of tomorrow. »
Another key point highlighted during this introduction was the central role played by social sciences, capacity building and community involvement within the PROACT EU-Response project.
To underscore this continuity between EU-response and PROACT EU-response, the first day opened with a joint meeting with the 2 studies, creating an opportunity to exchange lessons learned and strengthen collaboration across Europe’s infectious disease research landscape. The joint workshops covered two fundamental pillars of network-building: Virology Operational Laboratories for Drug Testing (VIRvOLT) and methodological approaches to designing Next-Generation Respiratory Virus Trials.
The remaining sessions through Friday were dedicated to an overview of PROACT EU-Response’s first achievements, structured around 7 sessions corresponding to the project’s 7 workstreams. The consortium was able to discuss and review the initial outcomes of the project’s 31 work packages, laying the foundations of the project: governance, methodological, and contractualisation frameworks are now in place.
These 2 days were marked by exceptionally rich discussions, celebrating the complementarity of all workstreams and the collective strength that defines PROACT EU-Response’s ambition for European pandemic preparedness.
The Proact-EU Response Team
