C-Path and EJP RD collaborate to expand global rare disease research and drug development

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Feb 1 2022

Critical Path Institute (C-Path), an independent global nonprofit organization, and the European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases (EJP RD), an initiative that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, have announced a collaboration to advance technologies and methodologies that are fit for regulatory purposes to further global rare disease research and drug development.

C-Path has a proven track record in establishing public-private-partnerships that positively impact the process of medical product development in rare diseases. EJP RD promotes integration, efficacy, production and social impact of research in rare diseases. In this context, EJP RD and C-Path have successfully established a collaboration using a shared data model to demonstrate that key datasets from both efforts can be queried simultaneously.

Collaboration is a foundational principle of success to address unmet needs in medical product development in rare diseases. As novel approaches are vital to address these unmet needs, our partnership with EJP RD will expand our global capabilities in collaborating for methodologies and technologies to accelerate research with tangible impact for individuals and their families living with rare disease."

Klaus Romero, M.D., M.S., F.C.P., C-Path Chief Science Officer

Building on the experience from the past year , both organizations will support the creation of an interoperable global data ecosystem for rare disease to expedite effective development of new therapies. The partnership will benefit patients, regulators, advocacy stakeholders, researchers and industry.

"The cooperation between EJP RD and C-Path not only allows us to bring our unique expertise together, but also sets the foundation for future joint actions in the data, regulatory and clinical methodology space strengthening capacities of the research and development community in EU and on a global scale," said EJP RD Coordinator Daria Julkowska, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Thematic Institute of Genetics, Genomics & Bioinformatics, INSERM.