This is the VASCERN SGA Proposal for 2017, under the ERN Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) 2017-2021.
The ERN is coordinated by the ERN Network Coordinator, Pr. Guillaume JONDEAU - AP-HP, H�pital Bichat-Claude
Bernard, CRMR Marfan Diseases and related disorders (Centre de R�f�rence Maladies Rares Syndrome de Marfan et
apparent�s).
VASCERN aims to facilitate and improve diagnosis, treatment and care for ALL patients suffering from Rare
Multisystemic Vascular Diseases, thus enhancing access to care, and improving quantity and quality of life of these patients.
Networking, sharing and spreading our expertise, promoting best practices, guidelines and clinical outcomes, patient empowerment, improving knowledge through clinical and basic research are among our objectives.
The European Reference Network on Rare Multisystemic Vascular Diseases gathers European highly specialized
multidisciplinary Healthcare Providers (HCPs) in this thematic area of expertise. The Network includes 5 Rare
Diseases Working Groups: Heritable Thoracic Aortic Diseases (HTAD-WG), HHT-WG, Medium Sized Arteries (vascular Ehlers Danlos) (MSA-WG) ,Pediatric and Primary Lymphedemas (PPL-WG) and Vascular Anomalies (VASCA-WG). The specific Patient Group enables Patient representatives to work on common issues and to be involved in all activities. In addition, several Thematic Working Groups are established to better tackle transversal issues which are planned in the Multiannual Work Programme on: eHealth, Training & Education, Patient Registry, Ethics, and Communication / Dissemination.
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The main ambition of the ERN BOND is to implement measures that facilitate multidisciplinary, holistic, continuous, patient-centred and participative care provision to people living with rare bone diseases (RBD), supporting them in the full realisation of their fundamental human rights. In particular, ERN BOND aim to ensure that people living with a RBD are afforded the same standards of care and support as the ones available to other citizens with similar requirements. To meet this goal, ERN BOND gathers European professionals highly specialized in the field of RBD for both scientific research and multidisciplinary care to increase knowledge on RDs, to improve healthcare quality and patient safety, to increase access to ultra specialized medical expertise and accessible information beyond national borders, in accordance with Directive 2011/24/EU.
ERN BOND aspiration is to support patients affected by rare bone diseases and their families, to increase their capacity to undertake a participative role in care provision, to set priorities and to participate in decisions regarding their care plan and their life project, in accordance with EUCERD recommendations (2013).

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The main ambition of the ERN BOND is to implement measures that facilitate multidisciplinary, holistic, continuous, patient-centred and participative care provision to people living with rare bone diseases (RBD), supporting them in the full realisation of their fundamental human rights. To meet this goal, BOND gathers European professionals highly specialized in the field of RBD for both scientific research and multidisciplinary care to increase knowledge on RDs, to improve healthcare quality and patient safety, to increase access to ultra specialized medical expertise and accessible information beyond national borders. ERN BOND aspiration is to support patients affected by RBD and their families, to increase their capacity to undertake a participative role in care provision, to set priorities and to participate in decisions regarding their care plan and their life project. BOND will bring rapid interchange of information, skills and practice to shorten time to diagnosis, and treatment, in collaboration with Patients Representatives (ePAGs). Efforts to target less developed affiliate partners, where the gap between existing provision and that aspired to through BOND is largest, will be carried, meeting the target of improving healthcare in ALL Members States.
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ERN-LUNG is a network of European patients and healthcare providers dedicated to ensuring and promoting excellence in care and research to the benefit of patients affected by rare respiratory diseases. ERN-LUNG’s vision is to be a European knowledge hub for rare respiratory diseases and to decrease morbidity and mortality from rare respiratory diseases in people of all ages. ERN-LUNG is a European Reference Network (ERN), a non-profit, international, professional, patient centred network. ERN-LUNG is focused on rare respiratory diseases and is made up of nine core networks representing the diversity of diseases and conditions affecting the lungs. The current core networks (sub-thematic areas) are interstitial lung diseases, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, primary ciliary dyskinesia, non-CF bronchiectasis, alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency, mesothelioma, chronic lung allograft dysfunction, and other rare lung diseases. In addition to the sub-thematic groups, ERN-LUNG is also organized in functional committees tackling horizontal topics, affecting all of the current and future core networks of ERN-LUNG. These functional committees are Research and Clinical Trials, Ethical Issues, Registries and Biobanks, Patient Recorded Outcomes and Quality of Life, Quality Management, Physical Fitness and Training, Social Services, Guidelines and Best Practice of Care, Communication and Outreach, Cross Border Care, and Professional Training and Continued Medical Education. In building up on and learning from mature networks of recognized international excellence, ERN-LUNG will continue to grow, to establish registries and clinical trial networks, and add value for patients, healthcare providers, and professionals through dissemination of knowledge, enhancement of general expertise by learning from the best centres in rare respiratory diseases in Europe, and improvement of standards of care, quality of life and prognosis for the whole spectrum of rare pulmonary diseases.
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Rare diseases (RD) have been considered a challenge for Europe, for they have been identified as one of the paradigmatic fields in which actions conducted at the European level constitute the adequate response to their specific problems: poor recognition leading to diagnostic delay and inappropriate management including adapted social services, poor health outcomes, social burden, limited knowledge on natural history and pathophysiology leading to an insufficient development of new therapies. Amongst the key actions the European Commission (EC) has contributed to develop so far in order to address key priorities in the field of RD there is Orphanet, a European Knowledge base dedicated to RD and orphan drugs, accessible from the portal www.orpha.net, and providing re-usable data through the platform www.orphadata.org. Orphanet has also be recognised, by the EC , as having a de facto monopoly in its field. The objectives of the project are:
1. To provide the RD community with interoperability tools, in particular around an inventory of RD, to allow for semantic interoperability between countries and between domains (health, research)
2. To provide high-quality information on RD, in particular through an encyclopedia in several languages,
3. To provide a directory of expert services in order to help patients, physicians and stakeholders finding the expertise on a particular disease in Europe and beyond, and to produce data needed to support policy actions.
4. To further develop and sustain Orphanet as the reference knowledge base on RD, by establishing and consolidating collaboration within the Orphanet pan-European network and with European Reference Networks (ERNs) for the production, improvement and dissemination of knowledge on rare diseases. It will allow for the creation of a consistent expertise ecosystem for rare diseases in Europe.
The overall outcome is the consolidation of Orphanet as the reference source of information on RD for European citizens.

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