National Cancer Hub open to expressions of interest

The Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB) and the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) have launched a call for expressions of interest to join the National Cancer Hub Stakeholders Group. Participation in this group is open to the entire national community, both individually and on behalf of national entities, such as health institutions, academies, research institutes, scientific societies, professional associations, patient organizations, industry, civil society organizations, among others. The deadline for submitting proposals is February 28, 2022.

The National Cancer Hub is the national structure that brings together relevant actors in the scientific, technological, and social fields to fight cancer, in order to successfully implement the European Plan to Fight Cancer (EBCP – Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan) in Portugal. It is coordinated by the DGS and the AICIB, an entity that supports, finances, and promotes clinical research and biomedical innovation in Portugal, of which the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) is one of the founding members.

The National Cancer Hub operates through two groups of actors, the Policy Group and the Stakeholders Group. The latter, for which the expression of interest period is now open, will focus primarily on mapping funding opportunities in the field of cancer, including the Cancer Mission, the EU4Health Program, the Digital Europe Program, and other European and national programs; the establishment of thematic working groups dedicated, for example, to issues of prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and/or survivors of the disease, in line with the National Plan to Combat Cancer 2021-2030; the identification of national priorities in various relevant thematic areas; and the promotion of the participation of Portuguese entities in Calls related to cancer. The group will operate during the development period of the European Plan to Combat Cancer, until 2030.

Through the establishment of the National Cancer Hub and this group in particular, the DGS and AICIB seek to ensure maximum participation by the Portuguese community in European funding opportunities in the field of cancer, the incorporation of research results, innovations, and scientific evidence into national health systems and policies, and the improvement of healthcare, quality of life, and equity of treatment for cancer patients and citizens.

The submission form and additional information about the group's operations and the National Cancer Hub are available on the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB) website.