Commission earmarks €65 million to safeguard critical data for life sciences and biotechnology

The European Commission has earmarked €65 million under Horizon Europe to safeguard scientific data and knowledge resources that underpin the development of new medicines and AI tools for biotechnology. The funding, included in the recently amended work programme, will help ensure that researchers and innovators retain reliable access to essential information on genes, proteins and scientific discoveries.

Many of these resources depend on fragmented and short-term funding, putting their long-term maintenance and service continuity under pressure. The package will strengthen Europe’s capacity to sustain this scientific infrastructure while keeping it openly accessible to researchers worldwide.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said:

“Europe’s ambitions in biotechnology and AI depend on the quality of the scientific data behind them. We are helping secure resources that researchers and companies rely on to understand disease and develop new treatments. Sustaining this knowledge is an investment in Europe’s scientific leadership and its capacity to innovate.”

Three essential scientific resources

The amended work programme provides for three grants:

• GENCODE - €19 million: to sustain high-quality information on genes, supporting research into how the genome works and its role in health and disease. The action will involve the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the Centre for Genomic Regulation.
• UniProt - €30 million: to maintain and develop information on proteins and their functions, supporting biomedical research and biotechnology. The action will involve its European consortium partners, EMBL-EBI and the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.
• Europe PMC - €8 million: to sustain access to life sciences research literature and its links to underlying scientific data. The action will be carried out by EMBL-EBI.

The support will cover the specialised scientific and technical work needed to maintain these resources, curate their content and keep pace with growing volumes of biological data. The funding is subject to evaluation of grant agreements, following normal horizon Europe procedures

Wider life sciences data ecosystem

An open competitive call will provide a further €8 million to strengthen other critical life sciences data and knowledge repositories and scientific services. It will address gaps in resilience and long-term sustainability across the wider ecosystem, beyond the three named resources.

Background

The package contributes to the implementation of the Strategy for European Life Sciences, launched in July 2025, and the European Strategy for Research and Technology Infrastructures, launched in September 2025.

It also responds to concerns raised internationally, including by the Global Biodata Coalition, about the vulnerability of essential biological data resources. The support reflects the EU’s commitment to open science and to maintaining the infrastructure needed for international research cooperation.

More information

Amended Horizon Europe work programme

Horizon Europe work programme 2026-2027

Horizon Europe 

Horizon Europe second Strategic Plan  

Strategy for European Life Sciences

European Strategy for Research and Technology Infrastructures

Funding & Tender portal

Press contact:

EC Spokesperson for Research, Science and Innovation

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