Commission earmarks €65 million under Horizon Europe to safeguard life sciences data

The European Commission has earmarked €65 million under Horizon Europe to protect scientific data and knowledge resources essential to developing new medicines and artificial intelligence tools for biotechnology. Announced on 6 October 2026, the funding forms part of the recently amended work programme. It aims to secure reliable access to information on genes, proteins and scientific discoveries, while keeping these resources openly accessible to researchers worldwide.

Many essential databases rely on fragmented, short-term funding, threatening their maintenance and continuity. The package allocates support to three key resources:

GENCODE: €19 million to sustain high-quality gene information supporting research into genome function, health and disease.

UniProt: €30 million to maintain and develop data on proteins and their functions for biomedical research and biotechnology.

Europe PMC: €8 million to preserve access to life sciences literature and its links to underlying scientific data.

The grants will support specialised scientific and technical work, including content curation and adaptation to growing volumes of biological data. Funding remains subject to evaluation and grant agreements under normal Horizon Europe procedures.

A further €8 million through an open competitive call will strengthen other critical repositories and scientific services, addressing sustainability gaps across the wider ecosystem.

The package supports the European strategies for Life Sciences and for Research and Technology Infrastructures, launched in 2025.

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EC News