The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) has launched its first calls for proposals, contributing up to €157m in total to projects across the two calls.

The calls give organisations involved in health research and healthcare an opportunity to work together ‘to tackle some of the biggest challenges in health research today’.

With a total budget of €2.4bn, the IHI is a public-private partnership between the European Union (EU) and Europe’s life sciences industries aiming to translate health research and innovation into tangible benefits for patients and society.

In total, IHI will contribute up to €135m to projects funded under IHI call 1, a single-stage call with topics on cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and health data. At least 45% of each project’s budget in call 1 has to be met via contributions from IHI private partners and/or IHI contributing partners.

For IHI call 2, a two-stage call with topics on cardiovascular disease and early feasibility studies, the IHI contribution is around €22m, a figure that is matched by contributions committed by private and contributing partners.

Dr Pierre Meulien, IHI’s executive director, described the calls as “a fantastic opportunity for health researchers and stakeholders to work together on some of the most pressing issues in health research.”

The University of Plymouth, the Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and Boehringer Ingelheim have launched the first evidence-based recommendations to drive inclusive digital tech innovations, built on extensive patient input.

The launch follows the then health and social care secretary’s £2bn plan for digital health and social care, which encourages healthcare professionals (HCPs) to adopt new digital solutions to ‘free up time, resources and hospital beds’.

How to involve and engage patients in digital health tech innovation, An Evidence Based Guide sets out clear principles to involve the public in the initial development of digital health solutions, ensuring patients are at the centre of digital transformation.

The patient-centric angle is a response to the COVID-19-driven surge in healthcare apps, with only 60% of innovators consulting patients before deciding to develop a new digital health tool, research by ORCHA found.

The resource also provides recommendations on processes to support ongoing product improvement, enabling innovators to adapt their tech as patients become more active partners in their health.

The four clear principles are produced from a combination of a systematic literature review, advisory panels and multi-stakeholder input, and make recommendations about critical issues such as data privacy, intellectual property, inclusivity, reimbursement, usability and recruitment of patients.

Cancer Research UK has urged the government to realise its ambitions to become a ‘science superpower’ after a new report highlighted the economic value of the charity.

The charity called on the government to meet its commitment to spend 2.4% gross domestic product (GDP) on research and development (R&D) by 2027, but said the UK is £2bn a year short of the government’s previous spending commitment.

Carried out by PA Consulting on behalf of the charity, Understanding the Economic Value of Cancer Research revealed that in 2020/21, the £1.8bn invested in cancer research generated more than £5bn of economic impact.

Of the investment, £815m represents salaries for 16,474 staff, almost 14,000 of which relate to highly skilled and highly paid scientific and technical roles.

PA also estimated the health benefit of the 2020/21 investment was an additional 22,730 quality adjusted life years, which has a societal value of $1,364m. Additionally, patients were able to carry on working, leading to an increase in earnings of $145m.

The report also revealed that the charity is responsible for around half of public sector and charitable investment in cancer research in the UK, generating £972m of economic benefits to the economy.

The UK government has announced a £175m investment to ‘supercharge’ the UK’s clinical research system and further its position as a world leader in life sciences.

The UK-wide plan will enable innovative research to be carried out more quickly, help patients access treatments sooner and help ‘bust the COVID-19 backlogs’.

The announcement aligns with the publication of a new three-year strategic plan to transform and recover clinical research delivery in the UK, which builds on the ‘successes and the lessons learnt’ from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Included in the plan is the pledge to ‘revolutionise how research is designed and delivered in the UK’ to drive inclusivity in clinical trials. Also included is the commitment to ‘streamline and strengthen the regulatory environment to ensure faster approval, set-up and delivery of studies’, as well as to increase investment in ‘digitally focused trials’.

The £175m adds to the £200m in funding announced earlier this year to strengthen the national data infrastructure and ‘cement the UK’s status as a global life sciences superpower’.

Included in the plan is £150m of additional funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and £25m from other delivery partners in the UK Clinical Research Recovery, Resilience and Growth Programme.

A group of leading doctors has launched the Beyond Pills campaign, calling on the government to tackle overprescribing in the UK health system by advocating represcribing and social prescribing.

Launched by the College of Medicine, the campaign echoes the recommendations made in the National overprescribing review published in September 2021 by the UK government.

Led by a group of healthcare leaders and senior politicians – including Dr Michael Dixon (chair of the College of Medicine), Lord Crisp (co-chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health) and Stephen Dorrell (former secretary of state for health and social care) – the campaign aims to reduce drug prescription, expand the number of social prescribing link workers, save crucial funds, and provide support to individuals and local communities hampered by health inequalities.

Social prescribing is a way for local agencies to refer people to a link worker, who encourages patients to participate actively in their own health or, in some cases, take a holistic approach to their health and well-being.