Enhancing and enlarging the European Partnership on Personalised Medicine (EP PerMEd) (Top-up)

The HORIZON-HLTH-2026-04-CARE-04 call, titled "Enhancing and enlarging the European Partnership on Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed) (Top-up)," is part of the Horizon Europe program. The call is specifically a HORIZON-COFUND action, utilizing a grant budget model with a total budget of €9,800,000. It employs a single-stage submission process, with the planned opening date on February 10, 2026, and a submission deadline of April 16, 2026.

Eligible applicants for this opportunity include the coordinator of the existing EP PerMed consortium funded under HORIZON-HLTH-2023-CARE-08-01. While this applicant must lead the proposal, additional partners can be included, and the call is open to new participants from EU Member States, Associated Countries, and notably, legal entities from the United States. The primary funding type is a grant amendment designed to enhance the ongoing partnership rather than engage in new competitive calls.

The project is focused on the health sector, specifically in personalized medicine, driving innovative approaches in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The grant aims to foster collaboration among various stakeholders including healthcare authorities, policymakers, and health industries, aiming for effective integration of personalized medicine into healthcare systems.

The application is structured around a top-up to the existing partnership, requiring a co-funding rate of 70% from other sources, as EU funding only covers 30% of eligible costs. The funding mechanism allows beneficiaries to offer financial support to third parties, capped at €10 million, throughout the duration of the partnership.

The opportunity is oriented towards enhancing existing personalized medicine initiatives through implementation, demonstration, and scaling of research findings into practical healthcare solutions. There is an emphasis on establishing regional ecosystems and strengthening local capabilities in personalized medicine, particularly in underrepresented areas.

The process includes an evaluation of the proposal against excellence, impact, and implementation criteria, ultimately leading to an amendment of the existing grant agreement if successful. The focus is on ensuring the successful transfer of innovations into the market and improving healthcare outcomes through evidence-based decision-making.

Overall, this funding opportunity seeks to leverage existing achievements within personalized medicine to expand research, foster collaboration, and optimize health services across Europe. The call invites proposals that not only enhance current activities but also integrate new partners into the established framework, especially from recently associated countries in the Horizon Europe initiative.

The HORIZON-HLTH-2026-04-CARE-04 call, titled "Enhancing and enlarging the European Partnership on Personalised Medicine (EP PerMEd) (Top-up)", is part of the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program under the "Partnerships in Health (2026/3) (HORIZON-HLTH-2026-04)" call. It is a HORIZON-COFUND action, specifically a HORIZON Programme Cofund Action, utilizing a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] Model Grant Agreement. The call employs a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is 10 February 2026, and the deadline for submission is 16 April 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The total budget allocated to this topic is 9,800,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 1 grant to be awarded.

The expected outcomes of this call are: European countries and regions, along with international partners, are engaged in enhanced collaborative research efforts for the development of innovative personalised medicine approaches regarding prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Healthcare authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders develop evidence-based strategies and policies for the uptake of personalised medicine in national or regional healthcare systems. Health industries, policymakers and other stakeholders have access to efficient measures and investments to allow swift transfer of research and innovation into market. Health industries and other stakeholders can accelerate the uptake of personalised medicine through the adoption of innovative business models. Healthcare authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders use improved knowledge and understanding of the health and costs benefits of personalised medicine to optimise healthcare and make healthcare systems more sustainable. Healthcare providers and professionals improve health outcomes, prevent diseases and maintain population health through the implementation of personalised medicine. Stronger and highly connected local/regional ecosystems of stakeholders, including innovators, are in place and facilitate the uptake of successful innovations in personalised medicine, thus improving healthcare outcomes and strengthening European competitiveness. Citizens, patients and healthcare professionals have a better knowledge of personalised medicine and are better involved in its implementation. Stakeholders cooperate better and establish a network of national and regional knowledge hubs for personalised medicine.

The scope of this topic is to support activities that enable or contribute to the expected impacts of ensuring equal access to innovative, sustainable, and high-quality healthcare. It targets an action under Article 24(2) HE Regulation, aiming to add additional activities to existing grant agreements, along with additional partners. The award of the grant is based on a proposal submitted by the coordinator of the consortium funded under topic HORIZON-HLTH-2023-CARE-08-01: “European Partnership on Personalised Medicine”. The additional activities and partners will be subject to evaluation. This action is a continuation of the HORIZON-HLTH-2023-CARE-08-01 topic and foresees an amendment to an existing grant agreement. The proposal should present the additional activities and partners in terms of grant agreement revisions. Partners from countries recently associated with Horizon Europe from 2024 onwards are particularly welcome. The existing action, the “European Partnership for Personalised Medicine” (EP PerMed), can only be enhanced and enlarged on the basis of the existing consortium.

The additional activities to be performed by applicants under this topic should consist of several of the following: Organisation of activities or tools according to their expertise and interests, e.g.: Personalised Medicine (PM) Innovation related activities and tools, business and entrepreneur relations and support, case studies and guides. PM public health and social care, people’s engagement, activities to support health system’s ability to turn scientific discoveries into new or improved treatments and services, support the scientific community to tackle complex health and social care challenges, international outreach. PM and diversity, underrepresented populations, gender aspects, health data and knowledge mobilisation activities, PM and rare diseases. PM related genomics, expert and societal exchange on genomics, opportunities by genomics for innovations and economic growth. Contribution to the design and implementation of the specific topics and features of the Transnational Joint Calls as of 2026 to which new partners will contribute national commitments. Specific, tailored contributions to other EP PerMed calls such as: Fast Track, Venture Creation Programme, Networking, Twinning calls, Call for surveys, Education calls, etc. Organisation of specific EP PerMed events, such as in-situ visits (Work Package 5 - WP5), summer schools (WP3/4). Contribution to the development and dissemination of strategic documents in additional geographical areas, for example the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) updates. Development and implementation of other new PM tailored activities within the related WPs.

The admissibility conditions are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. The proposal must be submitted by the coordinator of the consortium funded under topic HORIZON-HLTH-2023-CARE-08-01: “European Partnership on Personalised Medicine”. Any legal entity established in the United States of America is eligible to receive Union funding. Other eligibility conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

The evaluation will take into account the existing context and the scope of the initial evaluation as relevant, and related obligations enshrined in the grant agreement. If the proposal is successful, the next stage will be grant agreement amendment preparations. If the outcome of amendment preparations is an award decision, the coordinator of the consortium funded under topic HORIZON-HLTH-2023-CARE-08-01 will be invited to submit an amendment to the grant agreement. Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. The thresholds for each criterion will be 4 (Excellence), 4 (Impact), and 4 (Implementation), with a cumulative threshold of 12. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

This action is intended to be implemented as an amendment of the grant agreement concluded pursuant to Article 24(2) of the Horizon Europe Regulation. The funding rate is 30% of the eligible costs. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants. The EUR 60,000 threshold laid down in Article 207 of Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 does not apply. The maximum amount of FSTP that may be awarded to any single third party for the duration of the partnership is set at EUR 10.00 million. The starting date of the grant awarded under this topic may be as of the submission date of the application, with justification required. The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5. Legal and financial set-up of the grants are described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation form templates include the standard application form (HE COFUND top-up) and the standard evaluation form (HE COFUND). Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide and the Model Grant Agreement (MGA). Call-specific instructions, information on clinical studies, and information on financial support to third parties are available. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and other related documents.

There are 3 partner search announcements available. The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.

This funding opportunity, HORIZON-HLTH-2026-04-CARE-04, aims to enhance and expand the existing European Partnership on Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed). It seeks to support activities that contribute to innovative, sustainable, and high-quality healthcare by providing additional funding and welcoming new partners to the established consortium. The focus is on personalized medicine approaches, including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, with the goal of improving healthcare outcomes, strengthening European competitiveness, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders. The call encourages proposals that outline additional activities and partners, particularly those from countries recently associated with Horizon Europe, and emphasizes the importance of evidence-based strategies and policies for the uptake of personalized medicine in healthcare systems. The funding is intended to facilitate the transfer of research and innovation into the market, promote innovative business models, and optimize healthcare systems through improved knowledge and understanding of the benefits of personalized medicine.

Eligible Applicant Types: The primary eligible applicant is the coordinator of the consortium funded under topic HORIZON-HLTH-2023-CARE-08-01: “European Partnership on Personalised Medicine”. However, the call is open to including additional partners, which could encompass a variety of legal entities such as research organizations, universities, SMEs, large enterprises, healthcare providers, and other relevant stakeholders. Partners from countries recently associated to Horizon Europe from 2024 onwards are particularly welcome. Any legal entity established in the United States of America is eligible to receive Union funding.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON-COFUND action under the Horizon Europe Programme. This mechanism is designed to co-fund actions, implying a blend of EU funding and contributions from other sources. The action is intended to be implemented in the form of an amendment of the grant agreement concluded pursuant to Article 24(2) of the Horizon Europe Regulation. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium. While the proposal must be submitted by the coordinator of the existing consortium funded under HORIZON-HLTH-2023-CARE-08-01, the inclusion of additional partners is explicitly encouraged.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. This typically includes EU Member States and countries associated with the Horizon Europe program. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. In recognition of the opening of the US National Institutes of Health’s programmes to European researchers, any legal entity established in the United States of America is eligible to receive Union funding.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is health, specifically personalized medicine. The program aims to enhance collaborative research efforts in personalized medicine approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It also targets the development of evidence-based strategies and policies for the uptake of personalized medicine in healthcare systems, innovative business models, and the transfer of research and innovation into the market. The program also focuses on genomics, expert and societal exchange on genomics, opportunities by genomics for innovations and economic growth.

Mentioned Countries: The United States of America is explicitly mentioned as eligible for Union funding through legal entities established there. The call also welcomes partners from countries recently associated with Horizon Europe from 2024 onwards. The eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Project Stage: The project stage is primarily focused on enhancing and enlarging an existing project, implying activities beyond the initial research phase. The focus is on development, implementation, and uptake of personalized medicine approaches, including activities related to innovation, public health, social care, and knowledge mobilization. The project stage is related to validation, demonstration, and potentially commercialization and scale-up of personalized medicine solutions.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic is EUR 9,800,000. The indicative number of grants is 1, suggesting that the entire budget will likely be allocated to a single project that enhances the existing European Partnership on Personalised Medicine. The funding rate is 30% of the eligible costs. The maximum amount of FSTP that may be awarded to any single third party for the duration of the partnership is set at EUR 10.00 million.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call for proposals.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant. The grant will support additional activities and the inclusion of new partners in the existing European Partnership on Personalised Medicine. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants.

Application Stages: The application process appears to be a single-stage process, where applicants submit a full proposal by the deadline. If the proposal is successful, the next stage involves grant agreement amendment preparations.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants is 1, which means that the success rate is expected to be very low, likely below 10%.

Co-funding Requirement: The action is a co-funded action, meaning that the EU funding (30% of the eligible costs) is combined with contributions from other sources, such as national commitments from participating countries.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call (HORIZON-HLTH-2026-04-CARE-04) aims to enhance and enlarge the existing "European Partnership on Personalised Medicine" (EP PerMed). It is a co-funded action with a total budget of EUR 9,800,000, designed to support activities that contribute to ensuring equal access to innovative, sustainable, and high-quality healthcare through personalized medicine. The call targets the coordinator of the consortium already funded under topic HORIZON-HLTH-2023-CARE-08-01, but encourages the inclusion of additional partners, particularly those from countries recently associated with Horizon Europe from 2024 onwards. Legal entities established in the United States of America are also eligible for Union funding.

The primary goal is to support activities that enable collaborative research efforts in personalized medicine for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as to foster the development of evidence-based strategies and policies for the uptake of personalized medicine in healthcare systems. The scope includes activities related to innovation, public health, social care, genomics, and knowledge mobilization.

The application process is a single-stage call, with a submission deadline of April 16, 2026. The selected project will receive a grant to implement additional activities and integrate new partners into the existing EP PerMed framework. The funding rate is 30% of the eligible costs, and beneficiaries can provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants, with a maximum of EUR 10.00 million awarded to any single third party. The evaluation process will consider the existing context and scope of the initial evaluation, and successful applicants will be invited to submit an amendment to the grant agreement.