The European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) participated in the Kick-Off Meeting of the Joint Action on Personalised Cancer Medicine (JA PCM) in Brussels, as part of its engagement within the SPARC project (Strengthening Precision Oncology through Alignment and Research Coordination).
The meeting marked an important milestone for advancing a coordinated European approach to personalised cancer care, bringing together representatives from Member States, EU institutions, research organisations, clinical leaders, patient advocates, and industry stakeholders.
Strengthening Synergies Between SPARC and JA PCM
During Day 2 of the meeting, SPARC delivered a joint presentation outlining the project’s objectives, structure, and implementation strategy. The session was delivered by Manuel Ottaviano, Project Coordinator of SPARC, and Denis Horgan, Executive Director of EAPM and WP9 Lead within SPARC.
The presentation highlighted:
- SPARC’s overarching mission to strengthen coordination in precision oncology across Europe
- The strategic alignment between SPARC and JA PCM
- A structured three-level stakeholder engagement model
- The importance of policy, clinical, research, industry, and patient community integration
A particular focus was placed on how coordinated engagement mechanisms can support effective implementation of personalised cancer medicine within national health systems.
A Shared EU4Health Vision for Implementation
The Kick-Off Meeting underscored the importance of coherence across EU4Health-funded initiatives. Representatives from Sciensano and the European Health and Digital Executive Agency emphasised that collaboration across disciplines and Member States is essential to ensure that personalised medicine moves beyond innovation and into sustainable system-level delivery.
The discussions reinforced that alignment between initiatives such as JA PCM and SPARC is not simply complementary — it is foundational for scaling implementation across Europe.
From Strategy to System-Level Impact
For EAPM, participation in JA PCM reflects its longstanding commitment to bridging policy, research, and practice in personalised medicine. Through SPARC, EAPM contributes expertise in stakeholder coordination, policy alignment, and implementation frameworks to ensure that advances in molecular diagnostics, data integration, and targeted therapies translate into measurable benefits for patients.
As work under JA PCM progresses, EAPM will continue to engage actively in shaping policy dialogue, supporting knowledge exchange, and promoting structured collaboration between European and national actors.
The Brussels meeting marks the beginning of a coordinated effort to ensure that personalised cancer medicine becomes embedded within health systems across the EU — delivering not only innovation, but equitable access and sustainable impact.