PROPHET presented its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) at the European Parliament in the framework of the XX European Patients’ Rights Day: a concrete roadmap to bring personalised prevention from research into the everyday lives of European citizens.

On 12 May 2026, on the occasion of the XX European Patients' Rights Day (EPRD) at the European Parliament in Brussels, the EU-funded PROPHET project presented its key results and the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA)— a framework document that sets out how personalised prevention can be systematically implemented across Europe in the coming years.

"The PROPHET SRIA and Roadmap provide a structured framework to move personalised prevention from concept to implementation — defining priorities, actions, and the stakeholders responsible for each. A key challenge is the transition from healthcare systems focused on treatment to systems truly oriented toward prevention. That requires stronger governance, shared data infrastructure, and genuine cross-sector collaboration, affirmed Luigi Russo, PROPHET Coordination team — Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore during the event.

Organised by Cittadinanzattiva and its EU branch, the Active Citizenship Network, and hosted by the MEP Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy), the event, titled “Empowered Citizens, Personalised Care: A New Era for Prevention in Europe”, brought together EU institutions, researchers, patient organisations, healthcare professionals, and civil society to mark the twentieth anniversary of the EPRD and to explore a new frontier in health policy: personalised prevention. More than 40 participants attended in person from at least 18 different countries, and the event received over 150 requests for online participation from 34 countries — a sign of the growing interest in this topic.

This multistakeholder event focused on the evolution of the Right to Preventive Measures — the very first right enshrined in the European Charter of Patients' Rights in 2002. Twenty years on, that right is expanding to consider genomic screening, digital risk assessment tools, and interventions tailored to each individual's biological, environmental, behavioural, and socio-economic profile.

But, "The success of personalised prevention depends not only on technological advances such as genomics and omics sciences. It also depends on cultural, organisational, and equity considerations. Without addressing these, we risk building a system that is scientifically advanced but socially unjust — accessible to some and out of reach for others," added Russo.

From the citizens and patients organizations' point of view, “What clearly emerges is that this transformation can succeed only if citizens and patients are recognised as active participants,” said Daniela Quaggia, Senior Manager at Cittadinanzattiva-Active Citizenship Network. “and if it is perceived as fair, understandable, and inclusive. This is also why the PROPHET.EU project matters so much. It is not only building a scientific roadmap — it is helping to construct a European model of prevention that combines innovation with trust, equity, participation, and transparency.”

Carla van El, Amsterdam University Medical Centre (Amsterdam UMC) — PROPHET partner added: "Personalised prevention requires active and informed citizens who can make decisions about their own health and about sharing their data. Engagement is not a single act: it spans a spectrum from raising awareness at one end to co-creation of prevention strategies at the other. We need to invest in all of it — and we need to be especially attentive to those with lower health literacy or lower trust in science, because they are most at risk of being left behind."

The presentation of the SRIA was followed by a stakeholder roundtable bringing together the European Patients' Forum, the European Society of Human Genetics, the European Partnership on Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed), European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), and the European Commission (DG SANTE) — addressing equity, genomics, data governance, and the future of EU action on personalised prevention.

Here are all the meeting materials.

The event was kindly hosted by MEP Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy) and endorsed by the MEPs Interest Group 'European Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare'. It was realised in the framework of the EU-funded project PROPHET.

The project is coordinated by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Rome) and involves a consortium of leading European universities, research institutions, patients and civil society’s organisations.