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Overview of the project 

In January 2025, the pioneering project READI – Research in Europe and Diversity Inclusion – was launched in Madrid. This project is  a Horizon Europe Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) with the goal of promoting a less fragmented and more democratic ecosystem for clinical studies.  

Underserved and underrepresented populations in Europe, including ethnic minorities, older people, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, are often excluded from clinical studies. This creates gaps in understanding diseases and limits access to innovative health technologies.  

 READI aims to build a cohesive, patient-centered ecosystem for clinical studies by: 

  • Identifying and addressing barriers to participation.
  • Co-creating tools, resources, and training programs for inclusive study designs.
  • Developing an innovative digital platform to enhance stakeholder collaboration.

 In collaboration wth 73 partners across 18 countries, we’re fostering health equity and improving the quality of clinical research across Europe. 

EUPATI’s contribution within READI

Innovative trainings addressed to different stakeholder groups (patient communities, HCPs, researchers & teams at sites, pharmaceutical industry & CROs as well as the general public) play an important role in facilitating the reach, engagement, recruitment and retention of underserved and underrepresented populations in clinical studies. 

This is where EUPATI’s expertise in training will come into play, supporting and co-developing educational materials for all different stakeholder groups and ensuring efficient patient engagement within the project consortium itself.  

EUPATI is a workpackage co-lead in this project, focusing on training and capacity building efforts supporting the important goal of enhancing inclusiveness and representativeness in clinical studies in Europe! 

For more information, visit the official READI website: https://ihi-readi.org/  

 

This project is supported by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU) under grant agreement No 101166227. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and COCIR, EFPIA, EuropaBio, MedTech Europe, Vaccines Europe, and Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and Breakthrough T1D. This project is also supported by UKRI (UK Research and Innovation).