Horizon Europe, the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, is approaching its final phase, with the last calls for proposals expected in 2027. The Health Cluster and the Cancer Mission offer attractive funding opportunities for SMEs, academic institutions, hospitals, patient associations, and other stakeholders developing innovative solutions in the health sector.
These calls are “top-down”, meaning that a specific challenge and project scope are clearly pre-defined. Applicants must build a consortium consisting of at least three partners from three different countries. In practice, projects typically have an average budget of around €5 million and involve approximately fifteen cross-disciplinary partners.
The objective is not only to conduct research, but also to develop innovative and disruptive solutions that deliver tangible benefits for society and improve the common good.
In the upcoming months there are several deadlines:
- Cluster 1 Health
- CALL HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01 Opening: 29 Oct 2026; Deadline(s): 17 Feb 2027
This call is composed of 10 call topics (click on the URL above to see the list) going from disease management, health adaptation to climate change or development of therapeutics.
- CALL HORIZON-HLTH-2027-02- two-stage Opening: 29 Oct 2026, Deadline(s): 17 Feb 2027 (First Stage), 16 Sep 2027 (Second Stage)
This call is composed of 4 call topics going from Point-of-care diagnostics, to clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases or AI methodologies for chronic non-communicable diseases.
- Call HORIZON-HLTH-2027-03 Opening: 03 Jun 2027, Deadline(s): 16 Sep 2027
This call is composed of 3 call topics: bioprinting of living cells, GenAI for healthcare and Virtual Human Twins.
- Mission cancer: Opening 10 Feb 2027, Deadline(s): 21 Sept 2027
- EIC
- HORIZON-EIC-2026-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-02 Biotechnology for Healthy Ageing Deadline: 28 Oct 2026
- HORIZON-EIC-2026-ACCELERATOR-01 EIC Accelerator 2026 – Short proposal Next deadline: 17 Dec 2026
- EIT
- Fostering Opportunities in Regional Growth Across Europe Deadline: 2 Nov 2026
- University Incubators and Entrepreneurship Support Call Deadline: 2 Nov 2026
- Technology Transfer Offices and Entrepreneurship Support Call Deadline: 2 Dec 2026
- Others
- SYSTEMEU project – Open Call for Interregional Innovation Proposals in the areas of digital transformation of the Healthcare, Energy and Mobility sectors Deadline 16 Nov 2026
- PRISM Open Call for Proposals on paediatric multinational investigator-initiated clinical studies funded Deadline mid-Dec
You may be wondering how to get started with developing a project. Several roles are possible, ranging from project coordinator to leader of a specific task or work package within the project. Building and leveraging a strong network is therefore essential.
The Health Advisors at NCP.brussels and Enterprise Europe Brussels, Emilie Fonck and Marie-Elisabeth Colin, can support you throughout this process. We regularly co-organise brokerage events and can also promote your partner search through our extensive European network, helping you identify the right collaborators to build a competitive consortium.
Finally, hereunder a list of upcoming events that might be of interest for you:
- 24-25 November 2026: Cluster Health 2027 online brokerage event organized by the European Health NCP network (HNN3.0)
- 26 November 2026: Horizon Europe InfoDay – Cluster 1, 2027 Calls organised by the European Commission
- 1 December: Net4Society NCP network Brokerage event on Interdisciplinary Pathways towards Green Transition & Resilient Societies
