| Summary: |
In order to avoid fragmentation and a lack of coordination, industry and academia – together with the European Commission – have identified the need for a European initiative to intermesh the several strands of nanomedicine into a firm strategy for advancement. The resulting “European Technology Platform on NanoMedicine” is an industry-led consortium, bringing together the key European stakeholders in the sector. In September 2005 it delivered a common vision of this technologically and structurally multi-faceted area 1, and defines the most important objectives in this Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). The SRA addresses the Member States of the European Union, its Candidate Countries and Associated States to the EU Framework Programs for research and tech no logical development, as well as the European Commission itself. Its main aim is to put forward a sound basis for decision making processes for policy makers and funding agencies, providing an overview of needs and challenges, existing technologies and future opportunities in nanomedicine. The SRA also takes into consideration education and training, ethical requirements, benefit/risk assessment, public acceptance, regulatory framework and intellectual property issues, thus representing a possible reference document for regulatory bodies. The scientific and technical approach is horizontal and exploits the benefits of interdisciplinarity and convergence of relevant technologies via breakthrough developments in the areas of diagnosis, targeted delivery systems, and regenerative medicine. |