Test and Demonstration of Multimodal Data Approaches for Personalised Medicine (“MultiPMData2026”)

The Research, Innovation and Technology Call 2026, known as "MultiPMData2026," is part of the European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed) initiative. This call aims to fund transnational research projects that focus on testing and demonstrating multimodal data approaches in the field of personalized medicine. The opportunity is structured around a two-stage submission process involving pre-proposals and full proposals.

Eligible applicants include enterprises of all sizes, clinical partners from public and private healthcare sectors, academic institutions, and private non-profit organizations, with at least one enterprise and one clinical partner required in each consortium. The geographic scope encompasses EU Member States and Associated Countries whose funding organizations participate in the call, emphasizing transnational collaboration and potentially underrepresented regions.

The call targets the health sector, specifically personalized medicine, focusing on demonstrating innovative health applications through comprehensive data integration. The overall funding amount for this call is 15 million euros, with individual project funding varying based on consortia size and project scope. Funding supports approximately 30% of eligible costs, necessitating substantial co-funding from participants.

The application process requires proposals to be prepared jointly and submitted electronically. Pre-proposals are due by January 12, 2026, with successful applicants invited to submit full proposals by April 27, 2026. The evaluation process includes formal checks, independent reviews, and a rebuttal stage to address reviewer comments.

Proposals are evaluated based on excellence, impact, and quality of implementation. The ultimate goal is to foster interdisciplinary projects that can effectively translate research innovations in personalized medicine into practical healthcare applications. The call represents a significant opportunity for organizations in the personalized medicine field to secure funding for collaborative initiatives that can improve health outcomes and advance the integration of personalized approaches in healthcare systems.

The Research, Innovation and Technology Call (RITC) 2026, also known as "MultiPMData2026" or Test and Demonstration of Multimodal Data Approaches for Personalised Medicine, is an EU funding opportunity under the European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed). The call falls under the topic HORIZON-HLTH-2023-CARE-08-01 of the Horizon Europe program. The grant agreement number is 101137129.

The call aims to fund transnational projects focused on personalized medicine. All information and documents, including the call text, guidelines for applicants, and pre-proposal form, are available at https://www.eppermed.eu/funding-projects/calls/ritc2026/.

The submission process involves two steps: a pre-proposal and a full proposal. Joint applications must be prepared by a transnational consortium and submitted in English by the coordinator through the electronic submission system: https://ptoutline.eu/app/EPPERMEDRITC2026. Research project consortia intending to submit a transnational proposal should register at this link.

Joint proposals consist of two parts: a pre-proposal or full proposal template (Word format) describing the planned work, and the electronic submission tool for partner information and financial plans. Both parts must be completed jointly by all partners. Applicants must use the pre-proposal templates from the EP PerMed website and the full proposal form sent by the Joint Call Secretariat (JCS) in the second stage. Proposals must adhere to the "Guidelines for Applicants" regarding size, page limits, and character limits. Only proposals using official templates will be accepted.

The deadline for pre-proposal submission is 12 January 2026 (14:00 CET). Applicants selected to submit a full proposal will be notified by the JCS around 19 March 2026. The JCS will send a full proposal application template to the coordinators of the invited proposals. Any fundamental changes between the pre- and full proposal regarding consortium composition, project objectives, or budget must be communicated to the JCS and national funding organizations. Such changes may be accepted in exceptional cases with detailed justification and approval by the Call Steering Committee (CSC).

The deadline for full proposal submission is 27 April 2026 (14:00 CEST). The electronic submission system will not accept proposals after the deadline, and amendments or additional documents will not be possible. In case of inconsistencies, the information in the online submission tool prevails.

Eligibility criteria include that only transnational projects will be funded. Each consortium must involve at least three partners from three different EU Member States or Associated Countries whose funding organizations participate in the call. Each partner must be eligible and request funding. The legal entities must be independent. At least one partner must be an enterprise (SME or industry), and at least one must be a clinical partner. The project coordinator must be eligible for funding and cannot be changed during the application process.

Consortium composition rules state that no more than three partners from the same country are allowed in both pre- and full proposal stages, including partners with own funding. The maximum number of partners in a consortium is seven in the pre-proposal phase. Consortia can include an additional partner eligible for funding from an underrepresented region/country in the full proposal phase. No more than two partners on own funds are allowed, and the consortium must contain at least three partners eligible for funding. An exception is made to facilitate the integration of patient or citizen organizations, which can be added as additional partners without counting towards the partner limits, provided that no more than three partners request funding from the same funding organization.

Eligible funding recipients include:

A. Enterprise (for-profit) of all sizes, e.g. SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) and industry.

B. Clinical partner, public or private health sector represented by research teams or clinicians (e.g. medical doctors, nurses or pharmacists) working in hospitals/public health or other healthcare settings and health organizations).

C. Academia, research teams working in universities, other higher education institutions or public or private research institutes.

D. Private non-profit partners, e.g. foundations, associations or non-governmental organizations.

Consortia must include partners from categories A and B and are encouraged to include partners from categories C and D. The number of participants, the category of partner organizations, and their research contribution should be appropriate to the aims of the call and the research project. Each collaborative project should represent the critical mass necessary to achieve the ambitious scientific goals and should clearly demonstrate the added value for the cooperation.

Organizations not eligible for funding may participate with their own funds, but no more than two such partners are allowed, and the consortium must have at least three partners eligible for funding. A letter of commitment is required at the full proposal stage. If a partner is found ineligible, the entire proposal may be rejected.

A maximum project duration of three years may be applied for. Studies should be finalized within the third year. Eligible costs and funding provisions vary according to the funding organization's regulations. Project partners must adhere to their regional/national regulations.

The formal check and evaluation of proposals involve a two-stage process. The JCS checks proposals for formal criteria and forwards them to national funding organizations for compliance with regional/national regulations. Ineligible partners may lead to rejection of the entire proposal. Pre-proposals are sent to at least three independent reviewers for evaluation based on criteria outlined in the call text. The CSC decides which pre-proposals are invited for full proposal submission based on reviewers' scores and recommendations, ensuring a balance of budgets.

Full proposals undergo a similar formal check by the JCS and national funding organizations. Each full proposal is allocated to at least three independent reviewers. Before the Peer Review Panel (PRP) meeting, project coordinators receive the reviewers' assessments and can provide comments on factual errors or misunderstandings. The PRP discusses all proposals and rebuttal letters to produce a joint assessment report and a ranking list of proposals recommended for funding.

Evaluation criteria for both pre-proposals and full proposals include:

1. Excellence:

a. Soundness of the proposed methodology, including the underlying concepts, models, assumptions, multidisciplinary and intersectoral approaches.

b. Clarity and pertinence of the project’s objectives and them fitting to the scope of the call, and the extent to which the proposed work is ambitious, and goes beyond the state-of-the-art.

c. The innovative potential, efficient use of multimodal health data and the potential for the solution to reach implementation in the longer perspective.

d. Clear integration in the proposal of the six enabling elements: 1) Knowledge integration; 2) Technologies, products, methods and processes; 3) Infrastructures utilisation; 4) Business/value models; 5) Policies and regulations; and 6) Organisations, behaviours and values.

e. Appropriate consideration of the gender dimension and sex aspects, underrepresented populations, or specific sub-groups in research and innovation content.

f. Consideration of sex aspects and underrepresented populations in research teams, if applicable.

g. Quality of open science practices, if applicable, including sharing and management of research outputs (data management) and engagement of citizens, patients or patient representatives, civil society and other concerned stakeholders where appropriate.

2. Impact:

a. Credibility of the pathways to achieve the expected outcomes and impacts specified in the call text, and the likely scale and significance of the contributions due to the project, also considering potential barriers and proposed mitigation measures.

b. Potential impact with respect to the development, innovation and implementation of PM (e.g. clinical and other health-related applications, translatability of the proposed PM approach to practice in healthcare; elaboration on the translational aspect considering implementation or health economics research).

c. Suitability and quality of the measures to maximise expected outcomes and impacts as set out in the dissemination and exploitation plan, including communication activities (evaluated only at the full proposal stage).

d. Added value of the transnational collaboration; sharing of resources (registries, diagnosis, biobanks, models, databases, diagnostic and informatics tools, etc.), platforms/ infrastructures, harmonisation of data and sharing of specific know-how.

3. Quality and efficiency of the project implementation:

a. Quality, effectiveness including check points and room for adjustments in the work plan (including adequacy of the time schedule) and appropriateness of the effort assigned to work packages, and the resources overall.

b. Capacity and role of each participant, and extent to which the consortium as a whole brings together the necessary expertise. This includes appropriate expertise of partners responsible for proposed work packages (i.e. for considered enabling elements, international competitiveness of participants in the field(s) and previous work supporting the proposed study with preliminary data).

c. Interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration: coherent integration of suitable project partners to successfully accomplish the proposed work, i.e. to test and demonstrate personalised medicine approaches.

d. Appropriateness of the management structures and procedures to address risk assessment (i.e. critical risks to implementation and their proposed mitigation measures), innovation and intellectual property management and Responsible Research and Innovation, including ethical considerations (evaluated only at the full proposal stage).

e. Sustainability of the research capacities initiated by the project (e.g. FAIR data management, Open Science practices) (evaluated only at the full proposal stage).

A scoring system from 0 to 5 is used for each criterion. The three main criteria are weighted equally, with a maximum total score of 15 points. The threshold for each individual criterion is 3, with an overall threshold of 9 for proposals in both steps.

Conflicts of interest are managed by the JCS and CSC to ensure impartiality. PRP members must declare any conflicts of interest and maintain confidentiality.

Ethical clearance is mandatory at the full proposal stage through an "Ethical self-assessment." An evaluation of Ethics and RRI aspects will take place for proposals recommended for funding to verify alignment with ethical norms and regulations. Proposals must comply with central Horizon Europe and regional/national ethical requirements. This ethical clearance process does not replace ethical application procedures or approvals given by a dedicated Research Ethics Committee.

The final decision on funding is based on the PRP ranking list, ethical clearance, and available funding. The CSC recommends projects to be funded to the regional/national funding organizations, which make the final decisions based on budgetary considerations. The project coordinator is informed by the JCS of the decision, and partners are informed by their coordinator.

Applicants can appeal against the evaluation outcome within seven calendar days of the evaluation outcome email if they suspect a breach in the evaluation and selection procedures. The appeal must demonstrate a procedural irregularity, factual error, manifest error of assessment, misuse of powers, or a conflict of interests.

Applicants should contact their regional/national representative to inquire about eligibility with their respective funding organizations prior to submitting an application. Additional information can be obtained from the JCS (EPPerMed@agencerecherche.fr). Adherence to the "Guidelines for Applicants" is mandatory.

The opening date for submission is 01 October 2025. The deadline for submission of pre-proposals is 12 January 2026 at 14:00 (Brussels time). The total funding available is 15,00 €. The project acronym is EP PerMed, and the full name of the EU funded project is European Partnership for Personalised Medicine.

In summary, this call for proposals seeks to fund transnational research projects that advance personalized medicine through the use of multimodal data approaches. It involves a two-stage application process, stringent eligibility criteria, and a comprehensive evaluation process to ensure that only the most promising and impactful projects receive funding. The call encourages collaboration between various types of organizations, including enterprises, clinical partners, academia, and non-profit organizations, to foster innovation and translate research findings into practical healthcare applications.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types for this opportunity are enterprises of all sizes (including SMEs and industry), clinical partners (public or private health sector represented by research teams or clinicians working in hospitals/public health or other healthcare settings and health organizations), academia (research teams working in universities, other higher education institutions or public or private research institutes), and private non-profit partners (e.g., foundations, associations, or non-governmental organizations). Consortia must include partners from both the enterprise and clinical partner categories (A and B) and are strongly encouraged to include partners from academia and private non-profit categories (C and D).

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. Each consortium must involve at least three partners from three different EU Member States or Associated Countries whose funding organizations participate in the call.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries whose funding organizations participate in the call. A list of underrepresented regions/countries will be provided to coordinators invited to submit full proposals, indicating potential widening opportunities.

Target Sector: The target sector is health, specifically personalized medicine. The call focuses on testing and demonstrating multimodal data approaches for personalized medicine.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity is open to EU Member States and Associated Countries. Specific countries are not named, but eligibility is tied to the participation of national/regional funding organizations in the call. A list of underrepresented regions/countries will be provided to coordinators invited to submit full proposals.

Project Stage: The project stage is test and demonstration. The call aims to test and demonstrate personalized medicine approaches using multimodal data.

Funding Amount: The total funding available is 15,000,000 EUR. The funding amount for individual projects will vary based on the scope and requirements of the proposed research, and is subject to the regulations of the respective funding organizations.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a two-stage submission process (pre-proposal and full proposal).

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support their research projects.

Application Stages: The application process consists of two stages: a pre-proposal stage and a full proposal stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the process involves multiple layers of evaluation, including eligibility checks, independent reviews, and ethical clearance, suggesting a competitive selection process.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is not explicitly required, but organizations or teams not eligible for funding in this joint transnational call may participate if they are able to secure their own funds. These partners are treated as full partners.

Summary:

The European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed) is launching the Research, Innovation and Technology Call (RITC) 2026, also known as "MultiPMData2026," focused on "Test and Demonstration of Multimodal Data Approaches for Personalised Medicine." This call aims to fund transnational research projects that test and demonstrate personalized medicine approaches using multimodal data. The call is structured around a two-stage submission process: a pre-proposal and a full proposal. Consortia applying for this call must include partners from at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries, with at least one enterprise (SME or industry) and one clinical partner. Academia and non-profit organizations are also encouraged to participate. The total funding available for this call is 15 million EUR. The call emphasizes the importance of integrating knowledge, technologies, infrastructure, business models, policies, and organizational aspects into the proposed projects. The evaluation process includes a formal check, independent reviews, and an ethical assessment. The call also includes a rebuttal stage where applicants can respond to reviewers' comments. The final decision on funding will be made by regional/national funding organizations based on the recommendations of the Call Steering Committee (CSC) and the Peer Review Panel (PRP). This call represents a significant opportunity for researchers and organizations in the personalized medicine field to secure funding for collaborative projects that can advance the development and implementation of personalized medicine approaches in healthcare.