IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest in the health sector, medical devices and digital health)

Healthcare systems are in transition towards more personalised treatments, more preventive and patient-centred approaches, and greater efficiency. They need to transform their model from a paradigm based on a curative approach to a more preventive, personalised and responsive healthcare service. The development of digital health technologies and innovative medical devices will help to meet this transformation challenge. To support these value chains, the Belgian federal and regional authorities have decided to work with several other Member States to consider setting up an IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) in the field of medical technologies.

Barbara Trachte, Secretary of State for Economic Transition and Scientific Research:

The Brussels Region is a fertile breeding ground for the development of innovations in healthcare, in particular thanks to the presence on its territory of renowned hospitals as well as ambitious start-ups and companies. Sustainable and personalised medical devices, or artificial intelligence developed in a sector as important for the general interest and the common good as health, are a recognised strength, particularly in the Regional Innovation Plan", points out Barbara Trachte, Secretary of State for Economic Transition and Scientific Research in the Brussels-Capital Region. "I hope that those involved in R&I in Brussels will be able to develop fruitful collaborations within the framework of this IPCEI.

Aim of the call for projects

This call for proposals is aimed at economic operators wishing to take part in innovative projects on a European scale through various partnerships along this European economic value chain. The aim of this call for proposals is to identify players who could participate, in the territories of the authorities involved, in these large-scale European projects in the healthcare sector in the European Union (EU).

Economic operators are invited to submit projects in the following areas:

• Innovative processes and technologies for the more sustainable design and manufacture of medical devices with a view to more personalised medicine.
• Innovations in compact and portable medical imaging, with a particular focus on developments in the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) and artificial intelligence technologies with the aim of improving the quality of diagnosis or prevention.
• Increasing the lifespan of minimally invasive implantable medical devices, including connected devices.

The Brussels Capital Region (BCR) will receive projects from economic actors (including hospitals), which have a place of operation on its territory, to consider the possible participation in a potential IPCEI in the health sector by funding projects within the regular funding programmes. These economic actors can only participate in the IPCEI as indirect partners. This means that while they can be part of the IPCEI network and participate in European matchmaking, they are not part of the notification and do not have access to funding in the IPCEI framework.

To qualify as an indirect partner, only a short sheet (max. 2 pages) containing at least:

• Info organisation (name, company number, number of employees in the BCR, brief overview of activities in the BCR).
• Explanation of the organisation's expertise and how it relates to the topics of the call.
• Brief description of the activities indicatively foreseen for participation as an indirect partner.
• Size order of the proposed project cost (indicative).
• Is it the intention to participate with own funding or is an application for funding by the Region envisaged?

Matchmaking for indirect partners

Indirect partners may later be invited to participate in matchmaking sessions organised at European level. At that time, a more elaborate sheet will be requested. If the number of interested organisations exceeds the number of indirect partners allowed for the BCR, a selection will be made at this stage.

Timetable for sending documents

Submission of documents is done by sending them by e-mail to the FPS Economy (ipcei-health@economie.fgov.be), for the attention of any funding authorities.

Deadline on 1 December 2023 18:00, Brussels time

Interested? Be sure to contact Kourosch Abbaspour Tehrani for further clarification. Click below for more information. NL/FR