Together For Rare Diseases with ERICA are launching a series of webinars on how to work between industry and ERNs for partnering in research with joint projects.
First webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of ERNs’ core mission within the European healthcare landscape, detailing the resources, expertise, and infrastructure ERNs offer, and illustrating how collaborations between ERNs and the private sector can accelerate rare disease research and drug development, benefiting both industry goals and public health outcomes.
The European Reference Networks (ERNs), despite their significant potential for public-private partnerships, are often overlooked as key collaborators for research activities by pharmaceutical and biotech companies. This oversight stems primarily from a lack of knowledge and understanding of the ERNs’ valuable assets (quality of the networks/data/infrastructure) and capabilities within the industry.
Many professionals in pharma and biotech are unaware of the extensive patient data, clinical expertise, and collaborative infrastructure that ERNs offer, missing opportunities for mutually beneficial public-private partnerships. These partnerships could leverage the strengths of both sectors: the public health focus and patient access of ERNs, combined with the research capabilities and resources of industry. To bridge this gap and catalyze such collaborations, an educational webinar targeting industry stakeholders is essential. This initiative aims to showcase the ERNs’ unique strengths and demonstrate how public-private partnerships can accelerate rare disease research and drug development, ultimately benefiting patients and advancing medical science.