The Ministry of Health, the G6-UMF University Alliance, and the Local American Working Group Launch the Health Innovation Hub in Romania

For the first time in Romania, the Ministry of Health, the G6-UMF University Alliance, and the Local American Working Group (founding members) are launching the national Health Innovation Hub project, which aims to become a central element of a modern healthcare system, in line with the strategic priorities of the National Health Strategy 2023–2030 – “For Health, Together.” This initiative will develop research and innovation capacity across the entire healthcare sector, delivering concrete results that can be integrated into the provision of medical services for the benefit of Romanian patients.

By implementing this national project, Romania and Romanian researchers will connect to global innovation and research platforms, with one of the Hub’s key objectives being to facilitate access to and the exchange of best practices in health innovation, in an accelerated manner, with similar structures internationally.

The strategic directions assumed by the Health Innovation Hub for the second half of 2023 are: clinical trials, education and health promotion in priority chronic diseases, and healthcare digitalization. The first project to be carried out within the Health Innovation Hub will focus on clinical trials and will involve developing a concrete action plan to be launched as soon as possible, with measurable performance indicators. This plan aims to contribute to creating a competitive model in this critical area for innovation—one with major socio-economic impact for Romanian patients, physicians, the academic community, and the healthcare system—marking a first for our country.

The Ministry of Health, the G6-UMF University Alliance, and the Local American Working Group (LAWG) Association have launched the Health Innovation Hub during a major event held at the Palace of the Parliament, which brought together representatives of the founding members, as well as members of relevant public health and governmental authorities, the diplomatic corps, and the private sector in Romania.

“The Health Innovation Hub is a central and necessary element of a modern healthcare system, aiming to stimulate research and innovation in this field in Romania by promoting partnerships between public authorities, academia, non-governmental organizations, and the innovative pharmaceutical industry. In December 2022, together with our partners from the G6-UMF and LAWG, we committed—through the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation—to operationalize this project by mid-2023, and today we have completed this first stage by signing the Collaboration Protocol. The launch of the Health Innovation Hub represents an essential step in a national project through which we aim to bring global innovation to Romania. The Ministry of Health strongly supports this project, which will have a major positive impact on society as a whole.”
— Prof. Dr. Alexandru Rafila, Minister of Health

Through its strategic projects, the Health Innovation Hub aims to encourage Romanian research teams and entrepreneurs to develop pragmatic, innovative solutions for healthcare priorities—as identified in the National Health Strategy 2023–2030 – “For Health, Together”—that will make a net contribution to the development of Romania’s healthcare system and economy.

“The launch of the Health Innovation Hub and its focus on clinical trials, through the projects it plans to implement, is more than encouraging, because only through strong, solid, and long-term visionary partnerships can we truly develop this area of major interest. A first such project will be launched in July 2023, aiming to conduct an analysis of the current situation in the field of clinical trials, as well as to generate future strategic development directions by establishing measurable performance and impact indicators within a national action plan with annual and multi-annual targets, starting from the baseline measurement in 2023. The objectives of the Hub in the field of clinical trials are aligned with the objectives of the institution I lead, and this first-generation project represents the first step toward achieving them, for the benefit of patients and the entire healthcare system.”
— Dr. Pharm. Răzvan Prisada, President of the National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Romania (ANMDMR)

The G6-UMF University Alliance, as the representative body of Romania’s medical and pharmaceutical academic environment, plays an essential role both in promoting the interests of higher medical education and in creating a shared framework for cooperation in educational and scientific fields.

“By launching the Health Innovation Hub and implementing concrete projects within it, we make a decisive contribution to modernizing Romania’s healthcare system. We have the ambition to create a unique platform that will encourage young Romanian researchers and entrepreneurs to initiate and carry out complex, interdisciplinary projects capable of transforming current medical practice. By signing the Collaboration Protocol today, we are laying the foundation for a national platform aimed at boosting Romania’s capacity to generate innovation through top Romanian researchers—fully connected to the latest scientific discoveries—via a unique public-private partnership in our country.”
— Prof. Dr. Octavian Crețu, Rector of the “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timișoara, and Acting President of the G6-UMF University Alliance

“Romania and its healthcare system are facing multiple opportunities, and it is up to us to make the most of them for the benefit of patients. By creating the Health Innovation Hub in Romania, we are seizing these opportunities while also looking to the future to create new ones. Together with our partners, the Ministry of Health and LAWG, we aim to stimulate the development of pragmatic, innovative solutions for strategic healthcare priorities in the fields of clinical trials, prevention, and digitalization, alongside top researchers from Romania’s medical academic environment, through the projects we will launch in the near future.”
— Prof. Dr. Viorel Jinga, Rector of the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest

“The directions of the Health Innovation Hub will be aligned with the priorities of the National Health Strategy 2023–2030. Through this initiative, together with our colleagues from the G6-UMF, our partners from LAWG, and the Ministry of Health, we aim to develop research and innovation capacity across Romania’s healthcare sector, delivering concrete results that can be integrated into the delivery of medical services for the benefit of Romanian patients. The academic environment thus once again proves itself to be the driving force of research innovation in Romania.”
— Prof. Dr. Dan Ionuț Gheonea, Rector of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova

“The Health Innovation Hub in Romania was conceived as a collaborative forum to facilitate access to and the exchange of best practices in health innovation. Each of us, at the level of the university we lead, develops and implements innovative projects with concrete results for the benefit of patients and the academic community. We share the same objective within the Health Innovation Hub, together with our partners: to develop and implement projects that will directly strengthen research, development, and innovation capacity in Romania’s healthcare sector—and today, we have taken the first step toward achieving this goal.”
— Prof. Dr. Anca Dana Buzoianu, Rector of the “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca

“Universities of Medicine and Pharmacy are a key pillar of healthcare innovation, both nationally and within each of our regions. Through the Health Innovation Hub, launched today, and through dedicated projects in the fields of clinical trials, prevention and health promotion, and digitalization, we are one step closer to modernizing the healthcare system by transforming medical practice for the benefit of Romanian patients. Together with our institutional and private partners, we aim to take concrete action to transform scientific research and clinical practice in Romania.”
— Prof. Dr. Viorel Scripcariu, Rector of the “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași

“Health innovation is a priority at both the European and national levels, and the Universities of Medicine and Pharmacy are on the front line in this regard. The experience gained and the results achieved by each of us in implementing innovation projects are a guarantee that the partnership between the Ministry of Health, the G6-UMF Alliance, and LAWG will have a major positive impact on clinical and research practice in Romania. The Health Innovation Hub is truly a national project, and the signing of the Collaboration Protocol is its cornerstone.”
— Prof. Dr. Leonard Azamfirei, Rector of the “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology, Târgu Mureș

The Local American Working Group (LAWG) is a promoter of healthcare innovation in Romania and supports the development of public policies that enable an efficient, patient-centered healthcare system with increased access to innovation. LAWG brings together the world’s leading pharmaceutical, research, and biotechnology companies, dedicated to developing innovative medicines.

“The partnership between the G6-UMF University Alliance, the Ministry of Health, and the Local American Working Group for the creation of the Health Innovation Hub is a central element in implementing Romania’s vision for healthcare innovation. Through this initiative, we have the opportunity to bring together some of the brightest Romanian minds to work on transforming Romania’s healthcare system for present and future generations through pragmatic projects anchored in the National Health Strategy, in three priority areas: clinical trials, prevention and health promotion, and digitalization. Today’s launch of the Health Innovation Hub marks an especially important moment, bringing medical innovation closer to Romanian patients, for a healthcare system that meets European standards.”
— Radu Rășinar, President of the Local American Working Group

“The launch today of the Health Innovation Hub, together with the G6-UMF and the Ministry of Health, demonstrates the power of partnerships in achieving better outcomes for Romanian patients. Furthermore, we look forward to collaborating with private sector partners, non-governmental organizations, international research-focused universities, as well as within similar European Union initiatives, such as the European Health Data Space and the 1+ Million Genomes initiative, both of which have the potential to improve disease prevention, enable more personalized treatments, and support innovative research.”
— Frank Loeffler, Vice President of the Local American Working Group

“The launch of the Health Innovation Hub is the result of a unique partnership between the Ministry of Health, academia—through the G6-UMF—and the innovative pharmaceutical industry represented by LAWG. Our aim is to contribute to increasing the resilience and sustainability of Romania’s healthcare system by implementing projects that address urgent needs. For us, success is measured by achieving measurable performance indicators, tackling relevant themes for a modern healthcare system, such as clinical trials. We are confident that 2023 will see at least one completed project within the Health Innovation Hub, with direct effects on the entire Romanian healthcare system.”
— Adriana Stara, Secretary General of the Local American Working Group

LAWG members: Abbvie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, and UCB.