Objective of the Call

The 2026 International Joint Call for “Multi-Country Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials in Cardiovascular, Autoimmune, and Metabolic Diseases” has been officially launched under the partnership of ERA4Health and TÜSEB. The primary objective of this call—orchestrated by TÜSEB and the ERA4Health organization, which consolidates public health research funders across the European Research Area, including the European Commission, to implement a unified funding strategy for advancing health research and fostering innovation—is to support comprehensive medical research involving diverse clinical and intervention fields such as prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Furthermore, the program aims to enhance the clinical application of existing health technologies, build robust capacity for the execution of Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials (IICS) particularly on a European scale, and integrate as well as advance the principles of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) throughout the entire scope of the initiative.

Scope of the Call and Application Areas

The call covers the following research areas within the fields of Cardiovascular, Autoimmune, and Metabolic Diseases:

• Multi-country, randomized, interventional Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials (IICS): These must be designed as pragmatic comparative effectiveness studies and/or drug repurposing trials. The clinical trial design must be strictly appropriate for answering the proposed research question, and the rationale for the selected design must be explicitly justified within the project proposal. To ensure the exclusion of clinical trials with direct commercial objectives, the protocol and study design must be defined with absolute clarity and transparency.

• International collaborative research: This involves cooperation between clinical or public health research teams (including hospitals, public health institutions, healthcare providers, and other health organizations) conducting multi-country comparative effectiveness or drug repurposing studies.

Please note that clinical trials conducted for direct commercial purposes are not eligible for support under the ERA4Health program. Should any private for-profit entity be included in a consortium, its role must be thoroughly justified within the project proposal, and it must be demonstrated that no commercial interests or intent exist.

Call Application Process

Applications must be submitted through the official ERA4Health website. The application platform and detailed information can be accessed via the following link:

https://era4health.eu/calls/trials4health2026.php

Projects that receive a funding recommendation under the ERA4Health Trials4Health 2026 call are required to submit a formal project application through the TÜSEB Information Management System at tbys.tuseb.gov.tr. Following the successful completion of the TÜSEB evaluation process, eligible projects will be granted support. Subsequent annual progress and financial reports must be prepared in accordance with TÜSEB formats and managed through the TÜSEB information system.

Bu teknik ve idari koşulları içeren metni, uluslararası hibe programlarının terminolojisine tam uyumlu, resmi ve otoriter bir akademik dille İngilizceye çevirdim:

General Conditions for Application

• The duration of clinical trials shall be 48 months.

• Each Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trial (IICS) must clearly demonstrate its potential health, economic, and/or policy impacts, as well as the added value of international collaboration.

• Applicants must not submit applications to different calls for the same research activities. Double funding is strictly prohibited. Furthermore, all applications must comply with the principles of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI).

• Consortia must demonstrate how they intend to address the relevant social, political, equity, environmental, or cultural dimensions of the proposed research and how they will engage with stakeholders. The application template and the ERA4Health RRI Guidelines provide detailed instructions on how to address these RRI dimensions.

• All Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials (IICS) supported by ERA4Health must adhere to fundamental ethical principles. As part of the application, applicants are required to complete an ethics table and provide a detailed explanation of the potential ethical dimensions of the proposed study. This include demonstrating how the clinical trial will meet the requirements of institutional, national, and European Union legislation, including Horizon 2020 / Horizon Europe ethical standards and guidelines. All funded partners must comply with the principles of research integrity as set forth in the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. IICS involving human embryonic stem cells (hESC) or human embryos (hE) cannot be initiated without a preliminary ethical review by the European Commission and the subsequent decision of the Horizon Europe Programme Committee.

• Individual partners within joint applications must exhibit complementary expertise, and the proposed study must demonstrate high potential for practical application and benefit for end-users, patients, and citizens.

Call Timeline

• January 27, 2026 – Deadline for pre-proposal submission

• April 17, 2026 – Notification of pre-proposal evaluation results (invitation for full proposals)

• June 17, 2026 – Deadline for full proposal submission

• August 24 – September 4, 2026 – Rebuttal phase

• Late October 2026 – Notification of funding decisions to applicants

• January – May 2027 – Anticipated project start date (subject to national procedures)