Pan-European One Health Network established to bolster infectious disease response

iiCON: the Infection Innovation Consortium has successfully secured funding from COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) to establish a unique pan-European COST Action network with over 70 collaborators from 21 countries and international organisations to harmonise the European response to infectious disease threats.

COST Actions are bottom-up networks with a duration of four years that aim to boost research, innovation and careers. Cost Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and beyond and enable researchers and innovators to grow their ideas in any science and technology field by sharing them with their peers.

The Pan European One Health Network for Infectious Diseases Detection, Monitoring and Prevention will respond to the growing threat of infectious diseases to develop a coordinated, preventative response. It is due to formally launch in October 2026.

By integrating human, animal, and environmental health, the network will connect academics, clinicians, veterinarians, engineers, computer scientists, SMEs, policymakers, and civil society to co-develop equitable, scalable solutions. This multi-stakeholder group will bridge existing gaps to support the discovery, validation, and deployment of innovative tools to detect, monitor, and prevent infection threats.

The network includes collaborators from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom and International Organisations.

Forty percent of the collaborators are Young Researchers and Innovators, 57% are women, and 57% of the collaborating countries come from Inclusiveness Target Countries, which have been designated as “less research-intensive” compared to major scientific hubs.

Professor Patryk Kot, head of the Infection Innovation Technology Laboratory, led by iiCON, is leading the initiative. He said: “As the longest-running European framework for coordinating nationally funded research across borders, COST has played an important role in supporting and enabling equitable research and innovation over many decades, with tangible impact across Europe and beyond. We’re delighted to have been successful in securing funding and support for this important One Health initiative and to be part of the COST Action network.

“By enabling an end-to-end innovation pipeline and fostering public-private collaboration, our network will play a key role in accelerating the translation of research into market-ready tools, strengthening Europe’s resilience and preparedness for infectious disease threats.

“We look forward to working with our diverse group of collaborators to bridge research and innovation gaps – enhancing efficiency, bolstering innovation, and working collaboratively to standardise the European infection response.”

Professor Janet Hemingway, iiCON’s founding director, said: “Infectious diseases pose an increasingly complex and growing threat to our global communities. It is only by working together, sharing knowledge and standardising systems that we can leverage our shared expertise and synergistic capability to discover and develop solutions to combat this universal challenge.

“COST Action’s commitment to driving forward knowledge sharing and engagement across borders is deeply aligned with iiCON’s focus on collaborative innovation and we look forward to leading this important network – deepening links and enabling impactful partnership working to combat our shared infection threat.”

Major barriers currently limit translation from research to practice, these include fragmented surveillance frameworks, poor interoperability of datasets, limited predictive modelling, slow regulatory pathways, and uneven diagnostic capacity across regions.

This Action addresses these gaps through six interlinked Working Groups:
Frameworks and surveillance protocols’ harmonisation (WG1)
Interoperable data pipelines development (WG2)
AI-driven predictive models and diagnostic tools (WG3)
Capacity building and knowledge dissemination (WG4)
Alignment of innovation with regulatory, ethical, and policy frameworks (WG5)
Equity, diversity, and inclusion in Infectious Disease Innovation (WG6)

The funding will enable the network to participate in a broad range of capacity-building activities to support knowledge sharing, strengthening research networks and expanding the professional horizons and careers of participating innovators.

Key activities will include school training and engagement sessions, mentoring, short-term scientific missions and multi-sectoral workshops. This activity will equip the next generation of researchers and practitioners with valuable skills, knowledge and experience, while ensuring meaningful and cohesive engagement and open collaboration across a diverse European cohort.

Outputs from the capacity-building activity will include harmonised terminologies, interoperable architectures, validated diagnostic prototypes, regulatory and translational roadmaps, and EDI-informed innovation guidelines. These will be designed for practical use by end-users and supported with open-access resources, toolkits, and targeted dissemination to ensure uptake by the wider community.

ENDS

*This press release relates to COST Action: CA25101 Pan-European One Health Network for Infectious Diseases Detection, Monitoring and Prevention

About COST:
COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Our Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. This boosts their research, career and innovation. Find out more: www.cost.eu

About iiCON: Infection Innovation Consortium
iiCON is a global collaborative infectious disease R&D programme established in 2020. Founded with government funding provided through UK Research and Innovation’s flagship Strength in Places Fund, it brings together industry, academia, and the NHS in a concerted effort with a clear aim: to combat the growing global threat posed by infectious diseases and save lives through collaborative innovation.

Led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, our consortium partners Unilever, LifeArc, Medicines for Malaria Venture, Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, LYVA Labs, University of Liverpool, Evotec, and Infex Therapeutics are working on a number of innovative and ambitious programmes across iiCON’s eleven specialist research platforms.

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