The EU plans its spending in seven-year cycles, including investment for research and innovation. Ahead of the publication of proposals for the next long-term budget, an ESHRE working group compiled a list of key areas for infertility research.
The group’s report Impacting infertility: a research agenda aims to identify the research gaps and present them in a clear and comprehensible manner for policymakers. The document highlights a dozen topics where more research would be particularly beneficial to patients, society and science.
Karen Sermon, ESHRE’s immediate past chair and chair of the working group, told Focus on Reproduction: ‘Our reproductive health is an integral part of our general health and wellbeing, as set out by the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, yet resources for infertility research remain limited.’
Professor Dr Sermon adds that infertility is a common disease causing emotional and financial grief to the individuals affected, as well as having effects on society as a whole. Yet, it is insufficiently covered by the existing EU programmes for funding health research.
The 12 topics in the research agenda fall into six areas: preventing infertility and preserving fertility; gynaecological diseases; male infertility; optimising fertility treatment; optimising psychosocial support; and deepening knowledge on preimplantation development and early pregnancy.
The research agenda, which was developed with Fertility Europe, can be readin full here.
The document by the ESHRE working group has been also published in Human Reproduction (1) and, in an accompanying editorial, Professor Chris Barrett, the journal’s co-editor in chief, applauds ESHRE on the document.(2)
However, he also cautions that it is just the first step on the journey to substantially increase funding for reproductive medicine.
ESHRE also contributed to a set of recommendations that was compiled by the Biomed Alliance, before the EU published its draft of the next long-term budget (also known as the multiannual financial framework or MFF) earlier this year.(3)
So, what has the European Commission (EC) proposed?
Its plans include almost doubling funding for research and innovation, by allocating Horizon Europe €175 billion from 2028 to 2034. This compares with €95.5 billion in the current seven-year programme, which runs until 2027.(4)
At this early stage, the priorities for health research are listed as broad aims. These include preventing communicable and non-communicable diseases, including those related to sexual and reproductive health, and enhancing international health initiatives and cooperation.
Sexual and reproductive health are not mentioned in the regulation for the current Horizon Europe programme, which runs until 2027. Thus, the plans to include them from 2028 are encouraging and likely a sign of increased awareness of the importance of the topic.
In addition, many of the priorities for health research are also priorities for ESHRE. These include increased use of health data, digital tools and AI, improving access to healthcare and promoting evidence-based decision-making.
The blueprint places a strong emphasis on boosting Europe’s productivity and competitiveness and Horizon Europe will be closely linked to a new competitiveness fund.(5)
Indeed, the proposals for health research are actually outlined in the regulation for the competitiveness fund, rather than regulation for Horizon Europe.
The BioMed Alliance is calling for more information on how this link will work in practice. This umbrella organisation for European medical societies also wants assurances that non-competitiveness-related priorities, such as basic research, academic clinical trials, treatment optimisation, prevention and other public-health related topics, will continue to benefit from sufficient funding.
The non-profit organisation is also concerned that grouping health with three other disciplines – biotech, agriculture and bioeconomy – could lead to competition for funding between groups with different interests and priorities.
The proposals will now be negotiated with the EU Parliament and Member States. The EC will then decide on specific research topics.
‘It is still early days so let’s see how the discussion will develop,’ says Professor Wilfried Ellmeier, chair of the Biomed Alliance’s health research committee. ‘I think we as community have to ensure that health research remains a high priority.’
‘ESHRE will continue to monitor EU funding possibilities for research in reproductive health and continue to engage with policymakers to further this important topic,’ adds Professor Dr Sermon.
Referenes
1. Johanna Tassot, Aisling Ahlstrom, Antonio Capalbo, Ying Cheong, Giovanni Coticchio et al. ESHRE’s key research priorities in infertility: maximizing impact on science, people and society, Human Reproduction, Volume 40, Issue 10, October 2025, Pages 1829 1842, https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deaf150
2. Christopher L R Barratt, Driving change: aligning reproductive medicine research funding with disease impact, Human Reproduction, Volume 40, Issue 10, October 2025, Pages 1813–1814, https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deaf166
3. Ellmeier W, Meijer M, Madrignani M, Simulescu L, Karlsen TH et al. Shaping the future of European health research: policy recommendations of the Biomedical Alliance in Europe for Framework Programme 10 and beyond. FEBS Lett. 2025 Jun;599(12):1625-1633. DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.70079
4. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52025PC0543#
5. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52025PC0555
You have to be logged in and an ESHRE member in order to comment.