EU director of public health calls for better pandemic preparedness, as health commissioner tells Science|Business conference that vaccine rollout is ‘gathering pace’

After years of planning, Brussels launches the legislation to start ten big, public-private R&D ventures in health, climate and digital technologies

Money will fund sequencing to pick up dangerous variants and trials network to test updated vaccines. Vaccines approvals will be eased and supply contracts modified. The initiatives are a dry run for the proposed Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority   

The focus will be on post COVID-19 recovery, with leaked draft work programme indicating that in 2021 researchers can expect six calls for proposals on topics ranging from mental health to improving healthcare systems

As the problem of COVID-19 vaccines supplies so potently illustrates, it is time to rethink the EU’s pandemic preparedness strategy. More support is needed for late stage clinical development and large scale manufacturing

Commission’s Sandra Gallina says spending more on advance purchase agreements would not have avoided the current supply problems, after days of criticism of the bloc's centralised procurement scheme

‘AstraZeneca has to deliver’, the EU’s health chief says, as row over supplies heats up and officials contradict claims made by pharma company’s CEO

Leaked draft work programme points to an unhealthy balance between fundamental biology and applied research