Proposal to step up cardiovascular diseas...(le the related diseases for example via ...)

Fortunately the EVBI does not have to start from a clean slate, but proposes to build on existing projects, and in particular the European Vascular Genomics Network (EVGN), which has been running since January 2004 as part of the European Commissions FP6 framework research programme. EVGN has been promoting multidisciplinary interaction between 30 world class basic and clinical institutions in 11 European countries. The EVBI will harness this work. The EVBI sets a milestone for our perpetuation strategy, said Catherine Clusel, the Project Manager of EVGN. This is also where the EuroBioFund comes in, Clusel added. It will allow us to present the existing framework to potential funders, including on one side the pharmaceutical companies involved in the elaboration of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for the Innovative Medicines Initiative, and on the other side the European public or private foundations that are eager to support the most prestigious high profile research groups working in this area in Europe. EVBI addresses bottlenecks identified within the SRA for safety and efficacy in inflammatory diseases with an emphasis on atherosclerosis, and unites the European key opinion leaders in cardiovascular disease.

On the scientific front, EVBI will exploit existing project platforms, notably the EVGNs Zebrafish animal model, which allows vascular disease progression and the action of therapies to be monitored and analysed closely. The aim is to build on these platforms within an integrated and ongoing programme, said Clusel, providing secure long lasting funding with the aim of keeping Europe at the forefront of this crucial area of medical research.

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