SHINE 2Europe joined, in Madrid, 72 organisations from 18 countries for the launch meeting of the READI consortium ‘Research in Europe and Diversity Inclusion’, which aims to increase the representation of excluded populations in clinical studies in Europe. This ambitious project, funded by Horizon Europe’s Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), was officially launched at the Hospital Universitario La Paz on 16 and 17 January 2025 in Madrid, and will run for six years with a budget of 66.8 million euros.
Representing Portugal and SHINE, the only Portuguese company among the participants from 18 countries, SHINE CEO Carina Dantas and researcher Miriam Cabrita attended the launch meeting.
The READI project’s main goal is to create a more inclusive and equitable clinical research ecosystem by addressing significant gaps in the representation of ethnic minorities, older adults and socioeconomically and geographically disadvantaged communities. This includes clinical trials covering male, female, intersex, LGBTQ+ populations, people with disabilities, diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, paediatric patients, pregnant women, older adults, menopausal women, migrant populations, individuals from different religious backgrounds, neurodivergent, from different cultures, from fragile socioeconomic backgrounds and many others. These people, who are often excluded from clinical trials, face barriers such as lack of information, mistrust and geographical difficulties, which limit their access to innovative medicines and health technologies.
In the project, SHINE 2Europe is leading the creation of clusters of different types of stakeholders, playing an essential role in co-creating tools, resources and training programmes that will enable the design of more inclusive clinical studies. In addition, the organisation will contribute to the development of an innovative digital platform designed to facilitate collaboration between the various stakeholders.
The READI consortium is coordinated by the Servicio Madrileño de Salud (SERMAS), through the Hospital Universitario La Paz, with Novartis as project leader and the support of The Synergist.org as digital sustainability coordinator. This joint endeavour seeks to create sustainable solutions to increase representation and inclusion in clinical trials, ensuring more innovative and accessible science.
‘SHINE 2Europe’s participation in this project, as well as the honour of representing our country in the consortium, reflects our commitment to promoting inclusive communities and our drive to contribute to solutions that have a positive impact on people’s lives, especially the most vulnerable. The potential of this project is enormous because it aligns hospitals, universities and civil society with industry, namely the world’s major pharmaceutical companies,’ said Carina Dantas during the launch meeting in Madrid.
Through pilot studies and the use of Real-World Data (RWD), the project will map characteristics of under-represented populations, develop standardised descriptors for their inclusion and influence regulatory and health technology assessment policies. With these initiatives, READI aims to demonstrate how it is possible to broaden representation in clinical research, promoting greater equity in health.
More information and project monitoring can be found on the official website at https://ihi-readi.org/.
The official press release launching the READI project can be found at https://ihi-readi.org/PR_EADI_KoM_16_01_Official%20Launch.pdf.