Opening of ERDERA – European Rare Disease Research Alliance Call

On December 10 , the European Rare Diseases Research Alliance (ERDERA)launched its second Call proposals Call funding transnational research and innovation (R&I) projects. Pre-proposals must be submitted by 1:00 p.m. (Mainland Portugal time) on February 12, 2026.

This Call as its theme "Resolving unsolved cases in rare genetic and non-genetic diseases"and involves 31 funding agencies from 25 countries, including the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The Call support projects that seek to resolve issues in the field of undiagnosed rare genetic diseases and address complex and multifactorial rare non-genetic diseases by identifying causal variants in patients without a molecular diagnosis after previous genomic testing, and providing diagnostic clarification for conditions of unknown or mixed pathogenesis.

An online information session about the Call will be held Call December 16, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Mainland Portugal time). See detailed information about the event and register here.

Co-funded under Horizon Europe, and following on from the previous European Joint Program on Rare Diseases, ERDERA aims to support the coordination of research efforts between European and non-European countries in the field of rare diseases and to implement the objectives ofthe International Rare Disease Research Consortium(IRDiRC).

In addition to FCT, Portugal is represented in this partnership by the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB), the University of Coimbra (UC), and the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA).

For more information on applications from national entities to the FCT, please consult thepage dedicated to Call the FCT website.