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EGMEDC

The European Rare Diseases Research Alliance (ERDERA) Clinical Trial Call (ECTC) 2026

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ERDERA has opened its Clinical Trial Call (ECTC) 2026 to support multinational, GCP‑compliant Phase I, Phase I/II and Phase II interventional clinical trials in rare diseases.

Screenshot Title picture ERDERA ECTC 2026 October 202

EGMEDC involvement

In the ERDERA Clinical Trial Call (ECTC) 2026, EGMEDC will support the transition from clinical development to European implementation by coordinating cross-country stakeholder engagement, identifying implementation and access barriers, supporting regulatory and policy alignment, and developing a European pathway for adoption and equitable access to the investigational therapy.

Clinical Trials Call 2026

ERDERA has opened its Clinical Trial Call (ECTC) to support multinational, GCP‑compliant Phase I, Phase I/II and Phase II interventional clinical trials in rare diseases.

This call aims to generate robust clinical evidence and, where appropriate, data of regulatory relevance to support future regulatory interactions and subsequent clinical development. It is designed for rare disease trials where patient populations are often small and geographically dispersed, making multinational collaboration essential.

Priority areas (not eligibility criteria): paediatric rare diseases; rapidly progressive rare diseases; and rare diseases with no approved therapeutic options or with substantial residual unmet medical need despite existing treatments.


Who can apply

Universities/research institutes, hospitals/clinical centres, non‑profit research organisations and foundations, Patient Advocacy Organisations (PAOs), and SMEs (subject to specific funding provisions). Each consortium must designate a Clinical Trial Sponsor and a Coordinating Investigator, include at least one funded patient partner (via a PAO or other organised patient group), and secure access to a qualified multinational Clinical Trial Management Organisation (CTMO).

Only multinational trials will be funded (minimum of three independent eligible partner institutions from at least three different eligible countries; PAOs focused primarily on PPIE do not count towards this minimum).

Eligible interventions include small molecules (including repurposed drugs), ATMPs (with GMP‑validated manufacturing appropriate for Phase I/II), biologics/new biological entities, and repurposed biologics.


How it works

A multi‑stage process with a mandatory Stage 0 Expression of Interest (EOI) followed by Stage 1 Short Proposal, a structured Stage 2 Support Phase (regulatory, methodological and PPIE support), and invited Stage 3 Full Proposal.

  • Information webinar: 6 July 2026, 15:00–17:00 CEST.
  • Stage 0 – EOI (mandatory): 1 July – 10 September 2026.
  • Stage 1 – Short Proposal: 15 September – 29 October 2026.


Further information about the ECTC can be found here: https://erdera.org/call/ctc2026/



About ERDERA

ERDERA – the European Rare Diseases Research Alliance – is a European partnership uniting over 170 public and private organisations across 37 countries around a single goal: turning cutting-edge science into tangible benefits for the thirty million Europeans living with a rare disease.


With an estimated overall budget of 380 million euros until 2031, ERDERA aims to have a major impact on rare diseases by supporting patient driven research to develop new treatments and diagnostic pathways and harnessing the potential of health and research data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies.

The European Union contributes around 150 million euros to this co-funded partnership via Horizon Europe, while the rest of the funding comes from member states, countries associated to Horizon Europe and in cash and in-kind contributions from public and private partners.

Built on the solid foundations laid by the European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases (EJP RD), ERDERA brings the community, the data and the resources together to accelerate prevention, diagnosis and treatment.


More information can be found here: https://erdera.org/