The ATTRACT (Accelerate Together Rare Cancer Treatment) programme is a collaborative research initiative jointly promoted by six European cancer charities: Fundación científica Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (Spain), The Anticancer Fund (Belgium), Fondation ARC (France), Kom op tegen Kanker (Belgium), the Dutch Cancer Society (The Netherlands) and, joining for the second call, the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (Switzerland) The aims of the programme are to make better treatment available for rare cancer patients and to accelerate development of drugs for rare cancers.

Following a successful first call in 2023, the programme has announced a second call for proposals, expected to open in September 2024. As with the first call, the primary objective of ATTRACT 2025 is to tackle the funding gap for international research projects, particularly in the field of rare cancer therapeutics. The programme seeks to help develop new drug innovations from research into clinical practice to ensure that rare cancer patients have access to the most effective treatments.

Main applicants as well as research consortium partners should be based in a country in which one of the six involved charities are located (Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain or Switzerland), with a minimum of three participating countries.

The indicative total budget for the 2025 ATTRACT call is up to €12.4 million. Detailed budget information will be published in the call guidelines prior to the call launch.

Detailed information, including full eligibility and budgetary criteria, are scheduled to be made available prior to the full launch of the call.

(This Bulletin article was the subject of a ResearchConnect news alert.)