The European Rare Diseases Research Alliance (ERDERA) has pre-announced its 2027 Joint Transnational Call, “Catalysing Collaborative Research for Recently Identified Rare Diseases”, expected to open on 1 December 2026. It forms part of ERDERA’s programme of seven Joint Transnational Calls co-funded by the European Commission, alongside contributions from participating national and regional funding organisations.
The call will focus on recently identified rare diseases that still receive little dedicated research attention. It aims to bring together teams across countries and disciplines to understand these conditions and generate the evidence needed for future therapeutic development.
The pre-announcement sets out the preliminary scope, prospective funding organisations, eligibility requirements and timetable. An information webinar for potential applicants is planned for 14 December 2026, from 15:00 to 16:00 CET.
Building the foundations for future therapies
Advances in next-generation sequencing have helped identify many rare diseases, but recognition of a condition does not necessarily bring an understanding of how it progresses or how it might be treated. Many recently identified diseases lack natural history data, relevant models and an established research community.
Under the preliminary criteria, each disease studied must have been first reported in peer-reviewed literature on or after 1 January 2010, including an association with a suspected causative mechanism, such as a gene–disease association. Applicants must cite the original publication using its PubMed identifier or digital object identifier. The disease must also be registered in Orphanet, or applicants must provide evidence that registration has been requested. Proposals may address one disease or a small group of closely related diseases, provided each meets both criteria.
Proposals should cover at least one of four areas: natural history studies and patient registries; identification and validation of biomarkers; development of computer-based, cellular or animal models; or investigation of disease mechanisms. Where feasible, natural history studies should incorporate patient-reported outcome measures. Patient-entered data and standardised health surveillance tools are also encouraged.
The distinction between understanding disease and developing treatments is central to the scope. Diseases with animal models already developed and characterised in peer-reviewed publications are excluded, as are diseases with ongoing or completed clinical trials evaluating disease-modifying treatments.
Pre-clinical therapy development, diagnostic tool development and interventional trials evaluating treatment efficacy are also outside scope. Biomarker research may support mechanistic understanding or disease monitoring, but not the development of clinical diagnostic tests. Functional characterisation of variants and description of disease features remain eligible where needed to understand mechanisms. Applicants should consult the pre-announcement for the full disease-specific exclusions and exceptions.
The call forms part of ERDERA’s Funding programme, following its 2025 call on pre-clinical therapies and 2026 call on resolving unsolved rare diseases. Its focus is the foundational research needed to prepare recently identified conditions for future therapeutic development.
Who can apply
Subject to national and regional funding rules, eligible applicants are expected to include universities and research institutes, clinical and public health organisations, enterprises of all sizes and patient advocacy organisations. Participation by small and medium-sized enterprises is encouraged where funding rules allow.
The preliminary list includes funding organisations from Austria, Belgium’s French-speaking community and Wallonia, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Türkiye. Participation decisions and financial commitments remain pending for some organisations and may change. Applicants should check their eligibility with the relevant national or regional funder.
Under the preliminary rules, consortia must include three to six eligible principal investigator partners from at least three participating countries, with no more than two eligible partners per country. Seven-partner consortia must include one partner from an underrepresented country or one early-career researcher; eight-partner consortia must include two partners from either or both categories. Patient partners, whether requesting funding or not, do not count towards these limits.
Each consortium must appoint an eligible partner from a participating funding country or region as coordinator. Research partners must contribute substantially to at least one work package; groups providing only patient access, data or samples may participate as collaborators or subcontractors, subject to the applicable rules.
Patient partners involved from the outset
Consortia are expected to include and actively engage patient partners while preparing their proposals. This gives patients and families a role in shaping the research from the beginning, distinct from contributing data or patient-reported outcomes.
Patient partners may be patients, carers or family members representing a patient advocacy organisation, or another organised group where no patient organisation exists.
Applicants seeking relevant groups can consult Orphanet, EURORDIS – Rare Diseases Europe, the European Reference Networks, the Foundation for Rare Diseases and the European Patients’ Forum.
Indicative timetable and next steps
The call is expected to open on 1 December 2026, followed by the applicant webinar on 14 December. Applications will follow a two-stage procedure, with a pre-proposal deadline planned for 1 February 2027 and invitations to submit full proposals expected in mid-April.
A second webinar for invited applicants is planned for late April or early May. The full proposal deadline is provisionally set for 24 June 2027, with funding decisions expected in late October.
Prospective applicants should read the pre-announcement and follow the call page for the full call text, national and regional requirements, application documents and submission details at launch. General enquiries can be directed to the Joint Call Secretariat.
The content and procedures outlined in the pre-announcement are provisional, may change and are not legally binding.
