European Commission announces historic € 244 million initiative for the development of infections and sepsis therapeutics

At the occasion of the 9th Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance, Ana Burgos Gutierrez, Acting Head of Intelligence Gathering, Analysis and Innovation Unit at HERA, the Health Emergency Response Authority of the European Commission, announced a groundbreaking fund allocation for the development of innovative therapeutics to treat infections, ARDS and sepsis.

The announcement is the confirmation of the integration of sepsis into HERA’s work. As Ms Burgos confirmed during her speech, although sepsis is not an outstanding priority for HERA, nevertheless it is integrated in all the actions related to infectious diseases, pandemic preparedness, environmental and biological threats.

This is the result of the continuous engagement by the European Sepsis Alliance with HERA, the participation in the HERA’s Civil Society Forum and our contribution to the European Commission Medical Countermeasures Strategy.

The scope of the € 244 million budget call is expected to cover the development of innovative therapeutics to treat viral infections, ARDS or sepsis resulting from infections, including pathogen-targeted therapeutics (excluding small molecules or monoclonal antibodies) and host-targeted therapeutics, among which but not only direct-acting antivirals, indirect-acting antivirals and novel immune modulators. It may also cover innovative combinations therapies and products designed to be administered through alternative routes to IV. Broad spectrum therapeutics, pathogen-agnostic therapeutics and therapeutics that could reduce or counteract the emergence of viral resistance are of particular interest.

The contract notice is expected to be published by the end of May 2026. We invite all our partners to monitor the publication of the call, and to contact us for any questions and collaborations.