EDCTP Call: Diagnostic tools for poverty-related diseases (EOI deadline: 11th Oct 2018; full proposal submission by invitation: 21st March 2019)

The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) invites research proposals that address the need for the development and uptake of rapid, accurate, cost-effective, scalable and field-friendly diagnostic tools for the early diagnosis of poverty-related diseases (PRDs) in sub-Saharan Africa.

Disease diagnosis in sub-Saharan Africa is highly challenging, as the population has limited access to health care systems. Early and rapid diagnosis of poverty-related diseases (PRDs) offers the best opportunity for patients to receive timely and appropriate treatment, but adequate diagnostic tools are not readily available because of a lack of drive to develop and deploy them in disease-endemic countries. In addition, co-infections with several pathogens are frequent in many populations and represent further challenges in the diagnosis of many PRDs.

Objectives
Projects funded under this Call for Proposals should:

  • contribute to the achievement of SDG3 ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’
  • lead to improvements in patient care through early detection and treatment of disease and/or enhanced monitoring and tracking of disease progression and therapeutic response
  • contribute towards the implementation of innovative, rapid and simple diagnostics that can be deployed at low cost in health systems in resource-poor settings
  • contribute to reduce infections by key antimicrobial resistant microorganisms in humans.

Scope

  • Validation of the clinical performance and/or implementation of new or improved diagnostic tools and technologies for the detection of any of the PRDs, including co-infections.
  • Proposed tools and technologies should improve the performance of diagnosis, prediction, monitoring, intervention or assessment of therapeutic response, with a significant impact on clinical decision and health outcomes. 
  • Focus on late stage development (e.g. evaluation and/or demonstration phase trials) or implementation studies in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Diagnostic algorithms to detect multiple infections are also welcome.

Additionally, proposals should provide detailed plans for the uptake of the diagnostic tools and technologies upon successful completion of the project, including engagement with WHO or other relevant policy makers as well as plans for product registration (i.e. CE mark).

Proposals focused entirely on early-stage, laboratory-based studies using biobanked samples are outside the scope of this call.

Expected impact
Projects funded under this Call for Proposals should:

  • contribute to the achievement of SDG3 ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’
  • lead to improvements in patient care through early detection and treatment of disease and/or enhanced monitoring and tracking of disease progression and therapeutic response
  • contribute towards the implementation of innovative, rapid and simple diagnostics that can be deployed at low cost in health systems in resource-poor settings
  • contribute to reduce infections by key antimicrobial resistant microorganisms in humans.

Eligibility

Consortia comprising a minimum of three independent legal entities are eligible to apply. Two of the legal entities shall be established in two different European Partner States and one of the legal entities must be established in a sub-Saharan African country.

Level of funding

6-12 grants are expected to share a call budget of €18 million for a project duration of 24-48 months.  

For further details on proposal scope, eligible countries of origin and submission guidelines please see the EDCTP website.