The European Health & Digital Executive Agency under the Horizon Europe programme issued a fresh set of calls for proposals in the health research domain. These new calls aim to accelerate innovation in a range of areas including antibiotic-resistance, environmental exposures, mental and neurodevelopment disorders, and health system strengthening. One especially notable track is testing safety and efficacy of phage therapy for treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections an area many experts see as increasingly important amid concerns over rising resistance to current antibiotics.

Other priority topics include assessing the health impacts of pollution and micro- and nanoplastics on brain diseases, improving life quality of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families, and developing AI-driven tools for pandemic preparedness and response. There is also a push for innovations in prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment and cure of diseases, particularly those that are under-researched or of epidemic potential.

These calls are part of Horizon Europe’s “Health” Cluster, which is focused on improving health outcomes across the EU by generating new knowledge and translating it into effective and equitable care. The calls follow the usual two-stage proposal format in many tracks, allowing for initial concept approval before full submission phases. Deadlines are set for mid-September 2025, giving applicants time to form collaborations, especially international ones, and prepare the methodological robustness required.

Why this matters

Antimicrobial resistance is growing worldwide, and phage therapy offers a potential alternative or complement to standard antibiotics, particularly for infections that do not respond to existing drugs. By funding clinical studies in this space, the EU is recognising the urgency of discovering new therapeutic modalities.

Environmental health topics like microplastics impact, pollution effects, and neurodevelopmental exposures have often lagged in funding compared to more established disease areas. Including these in formal calls helps ensure that research catches up with emerging threats.

AI and digital tools for pandemic preparedness are now standard parts of the conversation, but the regulatory, ethical, and operational paths to deploying them are often unclear. By funding them under Horizon Europe, there is more chance of aligning research with public health needs and regulatory expectations.

Also, intellectual disability and quality of life for family caregivers are often under-studied. Proposals in these areas open possibility for interventions, diagnostics, support systems that may have been neglected.

Things to watch

The success of these calls will depend heavily on how collaborations are structured. Studies involving phage therapy or environmental exposure will need strong safety monitoring, careful trial design, and possibly more regulatory oversight.

Also, translating AI tools into real healthcare practice raises issues around regulatory approval, data privacy, bias in datasets, and equitable access across EU member states.

Another risk is that emerging research teams or less-resourced institutions may struggle to compete in international consortia or meet funding requirements. Ensuring inclusion and capacity building will be important if the EU wants broad geographic and demographic representation in the research it supports.