A pan-European network has been established by iiCON: the Infection Innovation Consortium to help harmonise Europe’s response to infectious disease threats.

iiCON secured funding from COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) to establish a pan-European COST Action network with over 70 collaborators from 21 countries and international organisations.

The Pan European One Health Network for Infectious Diseases Detection, Monitoring and Prevention will respond to the growing threat of infectious diseases to develop a coordinated, preventative response. Formally launching in October 2026, the network will connect academics, clinicians, veterinarians, engineers, computer scientists, SMEs, policymakers, and civil society to co-develop equitable, scalable solutions.

The multi-stakeholder group aims to bridge existing gaps to support the discovery, validation, and deployment of tools to detect, monitor and prevent infection threats.

Gaps identified by the network include fragmented surveillance frameworks, poor interoperability of datasets, limited predictive modelling, slow regulatory pathways, and uneven diagnostic capacity across regions. These barriers can limit translation from research to practice.

The network will address these gaps through the development of six interlinked working groups:

  • Frameworks and surveillance protocols’ harmonisation (WG1) 
  • Interoperable data pipelines development (WG2) 
  • AI-driven predictive models and diagnostic tools (WG3) 
  • Capacity building and knowledge dissemination (WG4) 
  • Alignment of innovation with regulatory, ethical, and policy frameworks (WG5) 
  • Equity, diversity, and inclusion in Infectious Disease Innovation (WG6).
Fostering public-private collaboration 

Professor Patryk Kot, head of the Infection Innovation Technology Laboratory, led by iiCON, is leading the initiative. He said: “As the longest-running European framework for coordinating nationally funded research across borders, COST has played an important role in supporting and enabling equitable research and innovation over many decades, with tangible impact across Europe and beyond. We’re delighted to have been successful in securing funding and support for this important One Health initiative and to be part of the COST Action network. 

“By enabling an end-to-end innovation pipeline and fostering public-private collaboration, our network will play a key role in accelerating the translation of research into market-ready tools, strengthening Europe’s resilience and preparedness for infectious disease threats. 

“We look forward to working with our diverse group of collaborators to bridge research and innovation gaps – enhancing efficiency, bolstering innovation, and working collaboratively to standardise the European infection response.” 

Professor Janet Hemingway, iiCON’s Founding Ddirector, said: “Infectious diseases pose an increasingly complex and growing threat to our global communities. It is only by working together, sharing knowledge and standardising systems that we can leverage our shared expertise and synergistic capability to discover and develop solutions to combat this universal challenge. 

“COST Action’s commitment to driving forward knowledge sharing and engagement across borders is deeply aligned with iiCON’s focus on collaborative innovation and we look forward to leading this important network – deepening links and enabling impactful partnership working to combat our shared infection threat.”