PREPARE – EISBM

PREPARE – Platform for European Preparedness Against (Re-)emerging Epidemics

Project reference: 602525
Funded under: FP7-HEALTH and managed by HLA-MED
From 2014-02-01 to 2019-01-31, ongoing project
More information: PREPARE website

PREPARE is a EU funded network for harmonized large-scale clinical research studies on infectious diseases (IDs), prepared to rapidly respond to any severe ID outbreak, providing real-time evidence for clinical management of patients and for informing public health responses. PREPARE is establishing a common European clinical research infrastructure covering over 600 primary care sites and over 600 hospital sites in 27 EU member States. ‘Inter epidemic’ studies are used to train PREPARE partners in mounting a rapid, coordinated deployment of European clinical investigators, within 48 hours of a severe outbreak. As such, PREPARE is establishing a paradigm shift in clinical research in response to severe ID outbreaks that will have far-reaching consequences for the management of chronic diseases.

Strategy

The European clinical research framework of PREPARE consists of three interconnected platforms – PATHOS, PRACTICE and PREDICT, supported by a common ICT infrastructure – CRISP – and strengthened by a comprehensive training and education effort – CREATE (see Figure below). Together they provide the framework for rapid, harmonised, large–scale and fit-for-purpose clinical research in response to any severe ID outbreak within Europe (defined as “any severe infectious outbreak with a pandemic potential or significant risk of major damage to health and socio-economics in the EU”).

EISBM PREPARE objectives

The EISBM in collaboration with its partners participates in the establishment of PATHOS: the flexible multidisciplinary platform for the rapid deployment of European harmonised large scale patient-oriented PATHOgenesis research Studies in response to severe ID outbreaks using a systems medicine approach.
The objectives are:

To provide a flexible multidisciplinary platform for the rapid deployment of large scale patient-oriented pathogenesis research studies in response to emerging ID outbreaks using a systems medicine approach;
To provide pathophysiological insights to guide development of personalised clinical management strategies of acute respiratory infections.