Horizon Europe support for stratified and precision medicine to improve allergy and asthma health in Europe

Question for written answer  E-000307/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Juozas Olekas (S&D)

Allergic disease and asthma are two of the most common chronic diseases, impacting over 150 million people. It is estimated that they will affect half of all Europeans by 2025.

As allergies and asthma continue to take a heavy toll on patients and healthcare systems, there is a clear need to better translate research findings into improvements in their prevention, management and cure.

The approach to allergic diseases and asthma is shifting to a stratified one, whereby patients are grouped according to several characteristics and the management of the disease is tailored to each group.

Stratified and precision medicine enables the development of better strategies to control and treat the underlying mechanisms of allergies and asthma. In the past, allergology and clinical immunology have played a leading role in the development of personalised and precision medicine approaches.

COVID-19 has exposed unmet needs in the field. Horizon Europe has the potential to accelerate the uptake of personalised and precision medicine for allergies and asthma, among other diseases, ensuring that patients’ needs are reflected in the research agenda.

Will Horizon Europe:

• 1.support research by funding stratified and precision medicine to improve prevention, early detection and the effective treatment of allergic diseases and asthma;
• 2.explore how stratified and precision medicine can be optimally implemented in Member States in order to foster equal access to high‑quality diagnostics and care for all patients in the EU?