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Contributing to Dutch Success in European Health Innovation
Dutch organisations have secured more than €5 billion in Horizon Europe funding, marking an important milestone for the Netherlands' leading position in the European research and innovation ecosystem. Within the health domain, Lygature has contributed to this success through dozens of European collaborative projects.
Over the past twenty years, Lygature has been involved in 35 European projects, including 23 Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) projects. In these initiatives, we bring together stakeholders from academia, industry, healthcare, government, patient organisations and society to accelerate the translation of scientific knowledge into medical innovation. Our strength lies in designing, building and supporting complex public-private partnerships that contribute to new medical solutions, a stronger innovation ecosystem and societal impact.
Building Partnerships for Health Innovation
Many of today's healthcare challenges cannot be solved by a single organisation. Developing new medicines, diagnostics, medical technologies and data-driven healthcare solutions requires collaboration across disciplines, sectors and borders.
As an expertise centre, Lygature combines deep knowledge of data infrastructure, regulatory innovation, global health, patient and public involvement, and health law, privacy & ethics with extensive experience in consortium building, governance, stakeholder engagement and the coordination of international collaborations.
We actively contribute this expertise within European partnerships, helping consortia navigate scientific, regulatory, organisational and societal challenges throughout the innovation lifecycle.
It is precisely this combination of domain expertise and experience in organising and managing complex collaborations that enables us to connect partners effectively, strengthen cooperation and maximise the impact of innovation.
Delivering Impact Through European Collaboration
Over the past two decades, Lygature has contributed to European projects representing a combined budget of more than €1 billion, with over €200 million allocated to Dutch partners.
Our contribution extends beyond project coordination. We help partners align ambitions, establish effective governance structures and navigate the complexity of international collaborations.
Examples include:
- European Lead Factory, which created one of the world's largest public-private platforms for early drug discovery;
- Unite4TB, which brings together partners from across the globe to accelerate the development of new treatments for tuberculosis;
- BigPicture, a European initiative advancing the use of AI and digital pathology in healthcare;
- IDERHA, aiming to develop a federated data platform enabling researchers to access and analyze health data across Europe.
These initiatives demonstrate how strong public-private partnerships can help transform scientific discoveries into new medicines, technologies, healthcare solutions and societal impact.
Jon de Vlieger, Strategy Director, LygatureEuropean health innovation depends on more than excellent science. It requires strong partnerships, trusted governance and the ability to bring together diverse expertise around a shared goal. For twenty years, Lygature has helped create those conditions, enabling partners across Europe to translate research into innovations that improve health and benefit society.
Looking Ahead
As healthcare challenges become increasingly complex, the need for trusted collaboration continues to grow. Lygature remains committed to strengthening the European health innovation ecosystem by contributing expertise, building partnerships and helping organisations work together to bring promising research closer to patients and society.
The recent Horizon Europe milestone demonstrates the strength of the Dutch research and innovation ecosystem. Lygature is proud to have contributed to this success and looks forward to continuing its role in advancing health innovation through expertise, collaboration and impactful public-private partnerships.
Read the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) announcement on the €5 billion Horizon Europe milestone here.