Protavio is proud to announce the launch of Project SHIELD, a four-year Horizon Europe-funded collaboration that unites more than 25 research centres, clinical sites, patient organisations and industry partners across thirteen European countries to confront one of the world’s deadliest cancers: pancreatic cancer. SHIELD will channel multidisciplinary expertise in proteomics, genomics, liquid-biopsy technologies, artificial intelligence, ethics and health economics toward one bold goal: raising the five-year pancreatic-cancer survival rate in Europe from under 10% to 30% by 2035.
The heart of the project is a simple, non-invasive blood test that can identify tumour-derived signals long before symptoms appear. Protavio will play a major role in the manufacturing of this novel IVD under GMP and IVDR. By enabling a screening programme for people at high genetic risk, SHIELD aspires to shift diagnosis from late-stage to early-stage disease, when treatment is far more effective and lives can truly be saved. Over the next four years, the consortium will proceed through four integrated phases, manufacturing the novel IVD, defining clinical and regulatory requirements, validating the test across multiple centres, and finally embedding the solution in European health systems.
The SHIELD project journey began last week on the Mediterranean coast of Paphos, Cyprus, where representatives gathered for a vibrant two-day kick-off. Partners introduced their teams, agreed on work plans and timetables, mapped data-sharing procedures, and dived into the work packages. Protavio’s own contribution will centre on our advanced proteomics platforms and bioinformatics pipelines, which will help manufacture and validate the blood-based multiplex IVD for early pancreatic-cancer detection. Looking ahead, we are eager to move from planning to implementation and, together with our SHIELD partners, accelerate progress toward a future where pancreatic cancer is diagnosed early and treated effectively. Detecting pancreatic cancer earlier can save lives, and we’re proud that Protavio’s expertise can help make that vision a reality.