Alliance4Rare: 2026 Call on Therapeutic Approaches for Rare Diseases in Children Issued

Funding for research projects in Germany which develop targeted therapeutic approaches for rare diseases which manifest in children.

Eva Luise und Horst Köhler Stiftung für Menschen mit Seltenen Erkrankungen (ELHKS – Eva Luise and Horst Köhler Foundation for People with Rare Diseases) is dedicated to contributing to better healthcare services for people with rare diseases through quicker diagnosis and more efficient therapy.

The Alliance4Rare Programme aims to network university children’s hospitals in Germany to develop targeted therapeutic approaches for rare diseases which manifest in childhood. It funds innovative research approaches which address urgent medical needs of patients. The focus is on the congenital diseases that lead to early mortality or severe impairments in children.

The initiative currently runs the following two programme lines:

• Prevent promotes research on diagnostic procedures for the early detection of rare diseases with the possibility of preventing the occurrence of serious symptoms.
• Rare2Common supports research projects into rare diseases which can discover disease mechanisms of common diseases.

The prerequisite for funding is a scientific activity in paediatric and adolescent medicine at one of the following locations in Germany:

• Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
• Universitätsmedizin Göttingen.
• Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden.

Collaborative projects involving the aforementioned Alliance4Rare institutions or the new Alliance4Rare partners, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf and Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, will be given priority.

Funding of up to €150,000 per year is granted for a period of three years to cover personnel and material costs.