EDCTP Annual Report 2011 available online
The EDCTP Annual Report 2011 is now available on the EDCTP website. The theme for the report isConsolidation. This is pertinent since in 2011 EDCTP focused most of its time on the management of ongoing projects and active grants. The emphasis was on monitoring the progress of these projects to ensure successful and timely outcomes. In addition to this, preparations for the second phase of the programme were ongoing.
The Annual Report 2011 is available online in interactive format. It offers access to the complete Financial Statements for 2011 in English and to the Annual Report 2011 in three languages: English, French and Portuguese (PDF downloads). Moreover, it gives an updated online overview of all EDCTP projects from the inception of the programme in 2003 to December 2011.
Outcomes of the EDCTP programme
Since the start of the programme in 2003 till the end of 2011, EDCTP has launched a total of 64 calls for proposals; processed 494 applications and awarded 196 grants of which 116 are still active and 80 completed. In 2011, seven calls were launched and 15 grants awarded. As the current programme is approaching the tail end, the emphasis of these calls shifted from large scale clinical trials to the shorter-term projects.
The maturity of the programme is underpinned by the completion or near completion of several large clinical trials. These include for example the 4ABC trial that compared the safety and efficacy of four artemisinin-based combination therapies in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria and the phase III pivotal clinical trial of Moxafloxacin for the treatment of tuberculosis.
This and other results were presented at the Sixth EDCTP Forum that took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in October 2011, under the theme ‘Strengthening research partnerships for better health and sustainable development’. The Forum was attended by 535 participants from 54 countries who contributed 265 papers of which 127 were presented orally and 138 on posters, the majority of them (over 60%) arising from EDCTP-funded projects.
Towards EDCTP-II
Following the positive evaluation of the EDCTP programme in 2010, the EDCTP-EEIG Member States, the European Commission and other partners unanimously agreed to continue with the Partnership. There was a consensus that the EDCTP-II programme should be more ambitious. This includes—while still focusing on the current scope of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria phase II and III clinical trials—to gradually expand to involve all clinical trial phases (I-IV), health service optimisation research, other neglected infectious diseases, increased membership in Europe and collaborating when relevant with other developing countries besides sub-Saharan Africa.
A Strategic Business Plan for this second phase of the programme, EDCTP-II 2014-2024, has been drafted through an extended dialogue between partner countries. In the second half of 2011, GA members presented their country’s indicative financial commitments. They also expressed their commitment to exploring mechanisms to increase cooperation between national programmes with the goal of greater integration of European national programmes within the scope of EDCTP. The Strategic Business Plan will provide the foundation for the legislative process which will take place in Brussels in 2012 and 2013.