Collaboration

European Union-funded projects

 

SUSTAIN-HTA – Support Utilisation of Sustainable and TAilored INnovative methods for HTA

15 partners / 6 countries [2024 Jan – 2027 Dec] More information: tbc.

The European collaborative project SUSTAIN-HTA aims to assist in the alignment of HTA methodologies across the European Union. This initiative, involving a consortium of leading universities, HTA bodies, SMEs, and an NGO led by Utrecht University, aims to focus on high-priority challenges in the assessment of innovative health technologies, working in close collaboration with the research community and building on recent advancements in HTA research (e.g., HTx, EHDEN, COMED and GetReal). Key objectives of SUSTAIN-HTA include the creation of a continuous horizon-scanning tool (SUSTAIN-HS) identifying HTA needs, an HTA methods observatory (SUSTAIN-OBS) to track developments in HTA methodologies, and a sandbox environment (SUSTAIN-SB) for testing and implementing these methods. Additionally, the project will offer an integrated training program (SUSTAIN-EDU) and a fellowship program (SUSTAIN-FP) to build expertise in new HTA methods and tools.

 

Syreon Research Institute is the leader of the work package on Dissemination and Outreach, which includes:

  • setting up a Stakeholder Forum,
  • creating the project’s website and visual identity,
  • coordinating communication and dissemination activities, and
  • developing a tailor-made webinar platform for making the content of SUSTAIN-EDU easily available to stakeholders around Europe and the world.

In addition, we are leading the task dedicated to the project’s sustainability, in which we are going to propose a business model allowing the consortium to maintain its activities and the networks it is going to create beyond the official project time frame.

 

FoodDataQuest, On a Quest for Data-Driven Innovations to fuel Sustainable Food Systems

15 partners / 8 countries [2024 Feb / 2027 Jul] More information: https://fooddataquest.eu/

FoodDataQuest will develop ground-breaking data-driven solutions based on an integrated methodological framework that explores new types of private and public data sources, data from “unconventional players” and non-competitive data and leverages data sharing mechanisms to provide the EU food chain stakeholders with increased insights and enhance the transition towards sustainable healthy diets. The proposed framework will include guidelines and data collection strategies, to drive the food system transformation towards inclusive, sustainable, healthy diets within the boundaries of legal and policy frameworks. FoodDataQuest will co-create and test advanced data-driven solutions based on AI and ML algorithms, following a multi-actor approach that will serve as a lighthouse that positively impacts a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system. Last, FoodDataQuest will engage citizens in the industry's data-driven innovations balancing between data openness and protection of private and sensitive data of multiple stakeholders.

In this project, SRI is focusing on Mapping the current landscape of private data sharing in food systems, including use cases; Identifying gain creators, needs and opportunities for private data sharing; and Defining strategies to use data and digital technologies to change consumer behaviour. SRI also contributes to the use-case on 'Reimagining food services in hospitals and elderly care homes promoting health and sustainability'. The objective of this use-case is to improve patient health and reduce food waste during their hospital stay by deploying a monitoring system that connects all available data sources within hospitals and home care facilities. The system will collect and process data based on well-established standards to provide insightful recommendations for reducing food waste and providing nutritious diets to patients. Hospitals will shift towards more nutritious and flavourful food options, such as meats produced without the routine use of antibiotics, locally sourced and organic fruits and vegetables, and food produced in an environmentally friendly manner. The pilot study will leverage the power of data-driven technologies to create an efficient and environmentally sustainable hospital food system. With the engagement of doctors and nurses, this initiative aims to improve patient outcomes and promote sustainable practices within the health sector. As a result, hospitals’ food waste and carbon footprint can be reduced, transforming them into “green” organizations. 

 

CATALYSE, Catalysing scientific innovation into food safety action

17 partners / 13 countries [2024 Jan/ 2026 Dec] More information: tbc.

The overarching goal of CATALYSE is to foster continuous innovations in the European food system and promote their use by end-users. The ambition of CATALYSE is to accelerate and make more efficient the uptake of knowledge and innovative solutions that promote food safety by the food system actors. CATALYSE is aiming to promote the creation of a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable community, both online and in practice, to meet the needs of all stakeholders, from “farm2fork”, with the common goal of ensuring food safety. Besides the obvious connection of research, innovators, industry and policymakers in agri-food, the ambition of CATALYSE is also to connect stakeholders from distant scientific fields, including social sciences and humanities. Sharing practices and experience from other scientific and professional domains strongly contributes to the cross-fertilisation of ideas and also enables wider use of innovation.

In this project, the main task of SRI is to contribute to the development of a database of knowledge and innovative solutions for food safety, by collecting and selecting information about innovation and the most recent scientific knowledge on food safety and creating a thematic network through the construction of an “online space” aimed to facilitate access to stakeholders in the field of innovation in food safety and foster their application through a community of practice. SRI also contributes to developing long-lasting teaching materials for all players in the food supply chain about critical issues in the safety management of food and contributes to creating a chapter in the CATALYSE Community of Practice.

 

TRUSTING - A TRUSTworthy speech-based AI monitoring system for the prediction of relapse in individuals with schizophrenia

12 partners / 11 countries [2023 Jul – 2028 Dec] More information: https://trusting-project.eu/

Partners for our Consortium have demonstrated earlier that subtle alterations in speech carry a predictive signal for psychosis onset. This project will develop an AI monitoring system that leverages spoken language processing (SLP) and natural language processing (NLP) of speech recorded at home to calculate the relapse risk. The monitoring tool we develop will be validated retrospectively in a longitudinal cohort, crosssectionally across six languages, after which it will be tested prospectively in a multicenter randomized trial, with the end goal of improving functional and clinical outcomes of those affected by schizophrenia. Developing such a system for exceptionally vulnerable people requires ‘buy-in’ from clinicians and mental health care service users, namely trust. A lack of trust is the biggest obstacle to the real-world implementation of a speech-based monitoring system. TRUSTING will develop a framework that systematically ensures addressing all the criteria for trustworthy AI put forward by the EU. This will ensure an empirically based and validated tool that can reliably detect pending relapse. TRUSTING generates the scientific and social foundation for disruptive technology to deliver the unmet promise of an equitable and just form of healthcare for people at risk of relapse.

In this project, SRI leads a Work Package on Health Economic Evaluation, encompassing the following tasks:

  • Exploring potential subpopulations and assessing reimbursement criteria in public financing systems;
  • Development of value framework for the AI monitoring system;
  • Health economic model development and adaptation to selected EU markets;
  • Net Present Value estimation.

Beyond the above, as a collaborator in another two Work Packages, Syreon will also contribute to the definition of the set of health economically relevant data (quality-of-life, costs, etc.) in the clinical trial of the AI tool, as well as to Dissemination, Communication, and Exploitation activities. By providing support for value assessment at an early stage, we aim to facilitate the market access of this highly innovative technology.

 

DIGIVITALITY - Enhanced marketability and financing of digital health innovations in CE through strengthened cooperation and improved policies

13 partners – 6 countries [July 2023-December 2025] More information: https://www.interreg-central.eu/projects/digivitality/

Most Central European (CE) countries lag as regards the digitisation of healthcare. Digital health innovations struggle to access and proliferate public healthcare systems. There is a lack of proven procedures and collaboration mechanisms that would empower start-ups to scale up and introduce innovative solutions. At the same time, policy improvements in more developed countries open a new horizon for innovators in digital healthcare, with Germany’s Digital Health Care Applications (DiGA) scheme being the frontrunner, offering a standardised process for doctor-prescribed digital health apps reimbursed by statutory health insurance.

To address shortages of CE healthcare systems, DIGIVITALITY develops the blueprint for a fast-track, multi-dimensional feasibility validation process, whereas selected digital health innovations parallelly undergo:

  • product & technology development
  • business case development
  • medical-clinical feasibility validation
  • early-phase health technology assessment.

The Digital Health Innovation Playbook, being DIGIVITALITY’s key project output, “codifies” the learnings of the pilot feasibility validation process, which is designed to boost the scale-up and market entry potential of digital health innovations via challenge-driven, open innovation-based collaboration of start-ups, med-techs, hospitals, and innovation hubs. Besides, DIGIVITALITY also fosters the development of public financing options for digital innovations inspired by the German DiGA scheme, thus promoting not only the generation but also the uptake of digital health applications in public healthcare systems.

Taking advantage of the similarities of DIGIVITALITY countries in terms of innovation ecosystem maturity, market and regulatory environments, the project multiplies upscaling potential of digital healthcare solutions by establishing a transnational space for joint learning, challenge definition, innovation scouting, matchmaking, validation, and policy improvement process.

 

STREXIT 2 - A Pragmatic Clinical Study Of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Followed By Surgery Versus Surgery Alone For Patients With High-Risk Retroperitoneal Sarcoma

5 partners / 5 countries [2023 June – 2028 May] More information: https://strexit-horizon.eu/

The STREXIT2 project is performing a clinical study with an innovative pragmatic approach, supplementing a standard phase III clinical trial with an observational cohort. The ongoing phase III EORTC clinical trial STRASS2 investigates the added value of neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery for high-risk retroperitoneal sarcoma, and an observational arm within STREXIT2 will capture real-world data from patients not participating in STRASS2.

As part of STREXIT 2, Syreon will conduct economic evaluations in different countries and will develop and coordinate a communication and dissemination strategy. The results generated, if positive, should inform guideline developers, policymakers, and healthcare payers about the importance of giving access to new treatment options for this patient group. Our team will also develop educational materials about key project methods and achievements.

 

LEGATO - Lomustine With Or Without Reirradiation For First Progression Of Glioblastoma: A Pragmatic Randomized Phase III Study

5 partners / 5 countries [2023 June – 2028 May] More information: https://legato-horizon.eu/

The LEGATO project is proposing an investigator-initiated phase III randomised pragmatic clinical trial. It will assess whether the addition of radiation treatment to lomustine chemotherapy has superior efficacy as compared to lomustine chemotherapy alone for the treatment of patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

As part of LEGATO, Syreon will conduct economic evaluations in different countries and will develop and coordinate a communication and dissemination strategy. The results generated, if positive, should inform guideline developers, policymakers, and healthcare payers about the importance of giving access to new treatment options for this patient group. Our team will also develop educational materials about key project methods and achievements.

 

DE-ESCALATE - Intermittent Androgen Deprivation Therapy In The Era Of Androgen Receptor Pathway Inhibitors; A Phase 3 Pragmatic Randomised Trial  

6 partners / 5 countries [2023 June – 2028 May] More information: https://deescalate-horizon.eu/

The DE-ESCALATE project is performing an investigator-initiated phase III randomised pragmatic clinical trial. It will evaluate whether intermittent ADT in metastatic prostate cancer is not inferior to continuous treatment in terms of oncological benefit while minimizing side effects and resource utilization and improving patient quality.

As part of De-Escalate, Syreon will conduct economic evaluations in different countries and will develop and coordinate a communication and dissemination strategy. The results generated, if positive, should inform guideline developers, policymakers, and healthcare payers about the importance of incorporating quality-of-life aspects into the clinical decision-making process. Our team will also develop educational materials about key project methods and achievements.

 

ADVANCED ANTIGEN-SPECIFIC DENDRITIC CELL-BASED THERAPY TO RE-ESTABLISH TOLERANCE IN IMMUNE-MEDIATED DISEASES (IMMUTOL)

11 partners / 5 countries [2023 May – 2027 April] More information: https://immutol-horizon.eu/

Autoimmune diseases are currently treated with immunosuppressive and supportive therapies, which dampen inflammation but do not stop the cause of the disease and are required life-long. Thus, there is an unmet need for safe and effective therapies for these diseases, which are well-tolerated and targeting the cause of disease. Tolerogenic dendritic (DC) cell-based therapies offer the possibility of restoring immune regulation, leading to long-lasting effects. Vitamin (Vit)D3-modified tolerogenic DC has been recently applied to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients in Phase I trials, demonstrating safety, tolerability, feasibility, and preliminary evidence of an effect. Molecular characterization of VitD3DC from MS patients suggests that they own less tolerogenic properties than those from healthy individuals. Thus, correcting these deficiencies through gene transfer could improve their effectiveness. IMMUTOL aims to fast-track the development and validation of an advanced therapeutic medicinal product (ATMP) based on VitD3-modified tolerogenic DC for immunotherapy approaches. Through a multidisciplinary approach, IMMUTOL will leverage the power of tolerogenic VitD3DC-based immunotherapy to develop a more potent and durable treatment for MS and, in turn, other autoimmune inflammatory diseases with an unmet medical need. In parallel, it will bring information about tolerance mechanisms and patient-specific requirements for manufacturing effective tolDC products.

Syreon will lead a work package to ensure the economic viability of the development project within and beyond the grant period, comprising of:

  • Selection of target indications and populations
  • Development of value frameworks, target product profiles, and health economic models for the target indications
  • Net Present Value estimation and attraction of multiplicative financing

We will also contribute to early discussions with regulatory authorities.

 

Mobilising novel finance models for health promotion and disease prevention (Invest4Health)

18 partners / 8 countries [2023 Jan – 2026 Jun] More information: https://invest4health.eu/

The ambition of Invest4Health is to incentivise new ways of financing health promotion and disease prevention through the financing solution of smart capacitating investment (SCI). This means sharing risks and resources to invest at scale across multiple levels within health ecosystems generating sustainable returns and localised benefits. With an interdisciplinary approach, the project will calibrate and harmonise three main work streams: developing functional prototype models of the anchoring concept (SCI); iterative testing in real-world environments to show relevance in tax and insurance-based systems; and preparing a social franchising package for large-scale demonstration.

Syreon will lead a work package on finance modelling for smart capacitating investment, comprising of:

1) exploring and assessing SCI-compatible finance models

2) analysing investment structures and impacts through the lens of value creation

3) developing a multidimensional performance measurement framework for financing models that will be tested within the project

We will also lead a task on assessing the transferability of the proposed SCI business and financing models to less developed regions of Europe.

 

DIGITAL tools delivering PREvention, prediction and remote care through a resilient EU value network to reduce health system stressors in a post-COVID world (DIGIT-PRE)

10 partners / 7 countries [2022 Oct – 2025 Sept] More information: https://www.digit-pre.eu/

The purpose of DIGIT-PRE is to launch an EU-wide network that generates value through linked activities while supporting participating companies to be competitive and sustainable. The project has a specific focus on consumer-facing digital health solutions for prevention, prediction & remote care in a post-COVID world. DIGIT-PRE has 5 main objectives:

  • To build a portfolio of demand-led solutions for digitalising prevention, prediction and remote care in health and care ecosystems;
  • To build capacity in less developed regions to take part in the DIGIT-PRE Value Network;
  • To secure additional investment to support acceleration to market or residual investment needs in shared smart specialisation strategy priority areas;
  • To accelerate innovation by providing access to large-scale demonstration living labs and test beds for solutions validation;
  • To go international and boost access to global supply and value chains.

Building on its expertise from joint work with EIT Health, Syreon leads three tasks in this project: (1) preparing the catalogue of consortium services to be offered to participating SMEs, (2) preparing an external services catalogue to be offered to participating SMEs, and (3) setting up value dossiers for the prevention-oriented products and services being developed. Syreon will also contribute to the project through key account managers assigned to selected start-ups who will guide them to produce market readiness assessments with their results determining further investment options.

 

REMEDi4ALL, a project to drive forward the repurposing of medicines in Europe and find new therapeutic options for existing drugs in areas with high unmet medical needs

24 partners / 11 countries [2022 Sept – 2027 Dec] More information: https://remedi4all.org

REMEDi4ALL aims to make a major leap forward in drug repurposing. This promising approach to drug development, consisting of the identification, testing, and validation of new therapeutic indications for existing medications, is a developing field but faces numerous barriers and systemic inefficiencies. Still, its potential to significantly bring down times and costs of drug development – since it focuses on already approved, discontinued, shelved or investigational therapeutics - makes this novel strategy attractive for rare and neglected conditions, cancer, emerging public health threats, such as COVID-19 and new drug combinations. It also facilitates the building of more sustainable health systems. 

In this project, SRI leads a Work Package with the aim to review, debate and advance the European regulatory and pharmaceutical policy environment for repurposed medicines. As a collaborator in another two Work Packages, Syreon will also aid in building and strengthening the funding practices of drug repurposing and provide support regarding the health technology assessment of demonstrator and user projects. By providing support for value assessment at an early stage, drug repurposing projects might have better chances to be reimbursed in several countries - and through that – be widely accessible for patients with unmet medical needs.

 

CLL-Clue (ERAPerMed) Multidisciplinary research projects on personalized medicine – pre-/clinical research, big data and ICT, implementation and user’s perspective

6 partners / 6 countries [2021 May – 2024 April] More information: https://cll-clue.eu/

The CLL-CLUE project will identify novel biomarkers and implement AI-based clinical decision support systems to guide treatment decisions of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Our solution will lead to significantly increased treatment efficacy, individualization of therapy and reduced drug use and side effects. We will investigate whether the reduced consumption of drugs and cost-effective outcomes can lower the financial stress that the health care providers and patients experience.

In this project, Syreon Research Romania will lead tasks on health economic evaluation of the developed artificial intelligence-supported application and on the clinical implementation.

 

EU-TOPIA East (H2020) Towards improved screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer in Eastern Europe: Equitable, Actionable, Sustainable and Trustworthy (EAST)

8 partners / 7 countries [2021 May – 2026 April] More information: https://eu-topia-east.org/

EU-TOPIA-EAST is a follow-up project of EU-TOPIA (H2020), refining and translating the developed EU cancer screening roadmaps into action plans for three middle-income countries in Eastern Europe: Georgia (breast), Romania (cervix) and Montenegro (colorectal). These action plans will take the local health and social system into account by performing detailed barrier and stakeholder analyses, leading to feasible changes to current screening programs. These action plans will be implemented in three exemplary countries. The implementation of the action plan will be monitored and evaluated using key indicators and sophisticated decision models will be developed to predict the long-term benefits, harms and cost-effectiveness.

In this project, SRI leads a Work Package on roadmap development to improve cancer screening programs in the Eastern European target countries. In addition, SRI contributes to six further Work Packages.

 

ENABLE COST Action (CA19132) European Network to Advance Best Practices & Technology on medication adherence

40 countries [2020 Oct – 2024 Oct] More information: https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA19132/, https://enableadherence.eu/

ENABLE aims to raise awareness of adherence-enhancing solutions, foster knowledge on medication adherence, accelerate the clinical application of novel technologies and work collaboratively towards economically viable policy, and implementation of adherence-enhancing technology across healthcare systems.

In this project, SRI leads a Working Group on the sustainable implementation of adherence-enhancing technologies.

 

HTx (H2020) Next-generation Health Technology Assessment to support patient-centred, societally oriented, real-time decision-making on access and reimbursement for health technologies throughout Europe 

15 partners / 11 countries [2019 Jan – 2023 Dec] More information: http://www.htx-h2020.eu/

The overall objective of HTx is to create a framework for next-generation Health Technology Assessment that supports patient-centred, societally oriented, real-time decision-making for integrated healthcare throughout Europe. The mission of HTx is to facilitate the development of methodologies to deliver more customized information on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of complex and personalised combinations of health technologies. HTx will also provide methods to support personalised treatment advice that will be shared with patients and their physicians. HTx aims to work in close collaboration with the European Network for HTA (EUnetHTA) and its stakeholders to pilot the implementation of these methods in Europe.

In this project, SRI leads a Work Package on transferability and dissemination, with a specific focus on Central and Eastern European countries and the patient community. SRI contributes to 3 further Work Packages.

 

VITAL (IMI2) Vaccines and infectious diseases in the ageing population

24 partners / 12 countries [2019 Jan – 2023 Dec] More information: https://vital-imi.eu/

The VITAL project will map the burden of potentially vaccine-preventable infectious diseases in the elderly, and investigate vaccinations and immunity to infections in the ageing population. The team will also calculate the clinical and economic consequences of possible vaccination strategies in different age and risk groups, and develop educational materials for stakeholders such as healthcare providers. Ultimately, by addressing the challenge of infectious diseases in the elderly, the VITAL project will contribute to better health for the ageing populations and a reduced burden on healthcare systems.

In this project, SRI contributes to 3 Work Packages and (co)-leads Tasks on patient flow mapping, transferability assessment of disease burden studies and economic models, and on a systematic literature review of educational and training interventions targeting healthcare professionals aiming to motivate for healthy preventive behaviour. 

 

HEcoPerMed (H2020) Healthcare- and pharma-economics in support of the International Consortium for Personalised Medicine – ICPerMed

5 partners / 5 countries [2019 Jan – 2021 Dec] More information: http://hecopermed.eu/

The project responds to the demand for economic models that evaluate treatments made possible through innovations in personalised medicine. HEcoPerMed also seeks to identify funding and reimbursement mechanisms that provide financial incentives for the rapid development and uptake of such innovations. HEcoPerMed goes beyond current assessment and payment models in order to serve the need for personalised medicine for more comprehensive cost-effectiveness estimates – incorporating patient and societal perspectives – and for sustainable affordability of cutting-edge health innovations. HEcoPerMed will provide an overview of and guidance on high-quality methodological approaches for model-based economic evaluations.

In this project, SRI leads a Work Package on the application of best practice health economic modelling in personalized medicine and contributes to 4 further Work Packages. 

 

COMED (H2020) Pushing the boundaries of cost and outcome analysis of medical technologies

6 partners / 6 countries [2018 Jan – 2020 Dec] More information: http://www.comedh2020.eu

COMED aims to advance scientific knowledge by improving existing and developing new research streams for cost and outcome analysis of medical devices; and at the same time, to provide immediately applicable policy advice and tools that will enhance the use of economic evidence in decision-making. COMED’s ambition is to develop scientifically rigorous recommendations on what, when and how real-world evidence sources can and should be used for the evaluation of medical devices.

In this project, SRI leads a Work Package on the transferability of medical device HTA and of evidence on uncertainty factors across EU Member States; and will contribute to 7 further Work Packages. 

 

EU-TOPIA (H2020) Towards improved screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer in all of Europe

7 partners / 7 countries [2015 Sep – 2020 Aug]  More information: http://eu-topia.org/

The overall aim of EU-TOPIA is to improve health outcomes and equity of breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening programmes in ways that take full account of the different demographical, medical, political, economic and cultural contexts across Europe.

In this project, SRI leads a Work Package on developing road maps with country-specific feasible changes to the three existing cancer screening programs to reach a more optimal screening performance; and contributes to 5 further Work Packages.

 

SELFIE (H2020) Sustainable integrated care models for multi-morbidity: delivery, financing and performance

8 partners / 8 countries [2015 Sep – 2019 Aug] More information: www.selfie2020.eu

SELFIE aims to develop a taxonomy of promising integrated care programs for persons with multi-morbidity; to provide evidence-based advice on matching financing/payment schemes with adequate incentives to implement integrated care; to provide empirical evidence of the impact of promising integrated care on a wide range of outcomes using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis; and to develop implementation and change strategies tailored to different care settings and contexts in Europe, especially Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

In this project, SRI leads a Work Package on the transferability of the most promising ICC models, financial incentives, and performance monitoring to CEE; and contributes to 5 further Work Packages. 

 

EQUIPT (FP7) European study on quantifying the utility of investment in protection from tobacco

11 partners / 7 countries [2013 Oct – 2016 Sep] More information: http://www.equipt.eu

EQUIPT brought together expertise from multiple disciplines and provided healthcare policymakers with bespoke information about the economic and wider returns that investing in evidence-based tobacco control including smoking cessation agendas can generate.

In this project, SRI was leading a Work Package on comparative return of investment analyses and contributed to 4 further Work Packages. 

 

Other collaborative projects

 

Hoodome Pilot Project

[2023 Sep - 2024 May]

In Hungary – as in most regions of the world – the main public health problems are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and obesity, which is becoming the number one public health problem due to its important role in the development of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. These illnesses and their complications are responsible for the death of around 100,000 people every year in Hungary alone, placing a significant burden on society. The number of preventable deaths in Hungary is one of the highest in the EU: compared to the EU average, twice as many people die in Hungary as a result of preventable causes of mortality.

A significant part of these leading causes of death can be traced back to environmental and lifestyle factors. The pivotal health role of diet has been well supported for decades by nutrition-related research, which revealed the role of calories, sugar, fat, protein, vitamins and other biochemical factors in deficiency diseases, on basic metabolic pathways, and in many other chronic diseases. Our current understanding of the way biochemicals in food affect health is largely limited to a few hundred components that different food composition databases track in the food supply (EuroFIR: cca. 750 components listed, cca. 270 components tracked; USDA: cca. 200 components tracked). Yet, when it comes to the composition of the food we consume, these food components represent only a tiny fraction of the ~70,000 distinct definable biochemicals reported by FooDB, which itself is expected to be only a fraction of the total composition of the food supply. This very incomplete knowledge of the complete biochemical composition of foods hinders the research community from discovering the mechanistic effects and ultimate roles of the thousands of untracked molecules in our health, whether through the microbiome, through their role in the body's metabolism, or through the various molecular regulatory mechanisms of human cells. 

To solve this problem, joining the international project on food exposome (Foodome), a Hungarian pilot project (Hoodome) had been initiated, led by Maven Seven Network Research Inc. (Boston, USA), in collaboration with Syreon Research Institute, proposing a Big Data strategy for the creation and experimental validation of a high-resolution collection of the biochemical composition of foods. The Hoodome project aims to create a unified database for Hungarian agricultural and food products. Once this has been built, the complete chemical composition of the most important food products in Hungary will be available, enabling the research and start-up communities to use the most modern database. This could change the direction of food and nutrition research as well as set out the future development direction in the health and agricultural industry. 

 

Use of chest computed tomography images for opportunistic lung cancer screening supported by artificial intelligence / Mellkas computer-tomográfia felvételek használata opportunista tüdőrák szűrésre mesterséges intelligenciával támogatva

[2021-2024] More information: https://syreon.eu/news/mellkas-computer-tomografia-felvetelek-hasznalata-opportunista-tudorak-szuresre-mesterseges-intelligenciaval-tamogatva/

The project "Use of chest computed tomography images for opportunistic lung cancer screening supported by artificial intelligence" (ID number: 2020-1.1.2-PIACI-KFI-2021-00283) is led by Syreon Research Institute. with a total budget of 304,404,000 HUF and a subsidy of 205,769,700 HUF.

Based on international recommendations, the most appropriate screening method for lung cancer is the low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) examination. However, due to the radiation exposure during the procedure, its use is only recommended for particularly high-risk patients. The goal of our project is to develop the technical background for an artificial intelligence-based, opportunistic lung screening program that complements the LDCT lung screening & test it under real conditions.

A „Mellkas computer-tomográfia felvételek használata opportunista tüdőrák szűrésre mesterséges intelligenciával támogatva” című 2020-1.1.2-PIACI-KFI-2021-00283 azonosítószámú projekt 304 404 000 Ft összköltséggel 205 769 700 Ft támogatás mellett a SYREON Kutató Intézet szervezésével valósul meg.

A nemzetközi ajánlások alapján a legalkalmasabb tüdőrák szűrési módszer az alacsony dózisú komputertomográfiás (LDCT) vizsgálat - azonban a vizsgálat sugárterhelése miatt bevezetése csak a kifejezetten magas kockázatú személyekben ajánlott. Projektünk célja a fentiek szerinti LDCT tüdőszűrést kiegészítő, mesterséges intelligencia alapú, opportunisztikus tüdőszűrő program technikai hátterének kifejlesztése és valós körülmények között történő vizsgálata.

 

Pharmaceutical Value (pValue) initiative

[2019-2021] More information: https://www.ajmc.com/contributor/the-university-of-colorado-pharmaceutical-value/2019/05/complimenting-coverage-and-reimbursement-decisions-with-multicriteria-decision-analysis

The University of Colorado Pharmaceutical Value (pValue) initiative, led by Jonathan Campbell, PhD, and with the support of R. Brett McQueen, PhD, and Melanie D. Whittington, PhD, aims to apply and test novel methods for value assessment that encourages stakeholder engagement and promotes value-based decision making. pValue focuses on developing and testing multicriteria decision analysis as a novel method to estimate the value of innovative healthcare therapies. Findings will be compared to traditional assessments of value. The intent of pValue’s work is to promote an evidence-based approach for decision-making. pValue includes a world-renowned Steering Committee alongside collaborators from Syreon Research Institute and Real Endpoints.

 

Development of a methodological guidance to establish an Essential Medicine List in Ukraine [2016] 

The project, initiated by USAID Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS), aimed to provide recommendations on how to establish and operate an Essential Medicine List (EML) in Ukraine.  The methodology included desk research on scientific publications and grey literature sources on EMLs and HTA in Ukraine, review of legislation materials, guidelines, draft processes etc., and conducting multi-stakeholder face-to-face interviews with representatives of various stakeholder groups including patient, government and pharmaceutical industry representatives and HTA experts. Key final outputs were a 7-day HTA training, a 4-day SOP training for the professional staff, and the development of SOPs and a detailed Handbook of Operations for the EML Committee and Secretariat to be established. 

SRI was the sole scientific partner of USAID involved in the project. 

 

On-the-spot scientific support for newly established Essential Medicine List (EML) Committee and Secretariat members [2017] 

This project, initiated by the United States Agency for International Development and World Learning, aimed to provide scientific support practice-oriented training for the members of the newly established Essential Medicine List (EML) Committee and Secretariat in Ukraine. The 3x1-week programme included: Scientific support on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) implementation, EML financing mechanism, and the adaptation of decision-making strategy on procurement and reimbursement of medicines included in the EML. Specific tasks included on-the-job training of HTA, development of a draft strategy on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for decision-making and discussions with key representatives of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. 

SRI was the sole scientific partner involved in the project. 

 

TODAY'S RESEARCH FOR TOMORROW'S HEALTH

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E-mail: info@syreon.eu