The International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) was launched in 2011 to accelerate medical breakthroughs for people affected by rare diseases.
It establishes a network of research funders – national and international governmental and non-profit funding bodies, as well as pharmaceutical and biotech companies – each investing a minimum of 10 million USD over 5 years in research projects/programs in rare diseases, to engage and participate in collaborative actions thus contribute towards IRDiRC objectives.
Benefits of the consortium membership include:
- Access to an international network of stakeholders active in the field of rare disease
- Representation on the Consortium Assembly and Constituent Committees
- Participation in a Scientific Committee and/or Task Force, according to expertise
- Involvement in setting out policies, guidelines, and recommendations
- Information sharing on the State-of-Play in rare diseases research
- Skill and expertise sharing to advance translational, pre-clinical, and clinical research
Ultimately, all this will help:
- Avoid duplication of effort through co-operative discussion
- Cost saving through knowledge and resource sharing
- Accelerate diagnoses and therapy development for rare diseases
- Advance the care and the cure of rare disease patients
- Maximise the impact of investment in rare diseases research
To apply to become a member, please submit (addressed to scientificsupport [at] irdirc [dot] org) and sign a Letter of Intent (LOI — see below) and provide a separate Letter of Motivation (LOM) stating your organization’s reasons for desiring to join IRDiRC and the explicit contributions your organization will bring to IRDiRC. We ask that you answer the following specific questions in the LOM:
Template of Letter of Intent:
- Why does your organization want to join IRDiRC?
- How does your organization contribute to research on rare diseases?
- What will your organization specifically contribute to IRDiRC to help advance IRDiRC’s vision, goals, and activities?
Template of Letter of Intent: For funding bodies / companies: LOI_Funders-and-Companies-Membership_2023_Final-Version