The second ERA4Health workshop hosted by ECRIN on Funding Mechanisms for Investigator-Initiated Clinical Studies was held on 8-9 February 2024, in Brussels, and brought together funders, clinical study experts, the European Commission, and HaDEA representatives. Its goal was to explore funding for multinational investigator-initiated clinical studies (IICS), addressing public health needs.

The workshop began with introductory remarks from Monica Ensini, Scientific Officer at HaDEA A3 Health Research, and Cristina Nieto, the ERA4Health coordinator from ISCIII. Marta del Álamo from ECRIN highlighted significant challenges and bottlenecks related to funding mechanisms for investigator-initiated clinical studies. The workshop continued with presentations from different initiatives currently funding or planning to fund multinational studies in various topics (infectious diseases, cancer, vaccines, rare diseases, comparative-effectiveness) and setups (European, international). These models and funding strategies introduced on Day 1 set up the base for Day 2, reserved for ERA4Health partners, focused on discussions of possible adaptations of the current Joint Transnational Call funding mechanism to the objectives of the planned ERA4Health Pilot Call on IICS