Some promising news from across the pond!
The European Joint Program on Rare Diseases (EJP RD) involves at least 130 entities in 35 countries — which includes all EU member states except for Cyprus, as well as Canada and seven EU associated members: Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, and Turkey.
Hey, even our neighbors up north are getting in on the action!
“Patients with a rare disease often suffer unnecessarily and die prematurely. We need to do much more to develop effective treatments and improve diagnosis,” Carlos Moedas, the EU’s commissioner for research, science and innovation, said during a recent meeting of the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium in Brussels.
The new program is overseen by Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, and brings together hospitals, patient advocacy groups, universities, and funding organizations from all across Europe and the world.
This focus on rare diseases is part of a larger trend — from the US to China — and the attention is welcome! This European momentum can have a long, global reach and provide medical communities elsewhere more opportunities to find rare disease treatments.
We look forward to the progress made by the EJP RD!
