RD-ACTION / EMA / DG SANTE workshop: how European Reference Networks can add value to clinical research

The main objective of this workshop organised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), RD-ACTION (the European Joint Action for Rare Diseases) and the European Commission's Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), is to explore how to work together with the European Reference Networks (ERNs) in the field of complex and rare diseases. The workshop will look at how EMA and ERNs can reinforce each other's efforts to encourage and facilitate research into new treatments for rare and low-prevalence complex diseases and how ERNs could be engaged in EMA activities. The first ERNs were launched in March 2017, involving more than 900 highly-specialised healthcare units from over 300 hospitals in 26 European Union countries. Presently, 24 ERNs are operational covering a large range of therapeutic areas.