About
+ What is FOCUS-4R?
Powering Biomedical Excellence in Europe’s Outermost Regions
(Fostering Outermost regions Capabilities in R&I and Upgrading Skills complying with 4R principles) is a strategic initiative dedicated to transforming the biomedical landscape in the EU’s Outermost Regions (ORs).
By connecting the expertise of Reunion Island, the Canary Islands, and Madeira with world-class European centers of excellence, we overcome geographical barriers. Our goal is to build an autonomous, competitive, and highly attractive R&I ecosystem for the future of healthcare.
+ Our Core Objectives
An Innovative Project for Research and Innovation in Outermost Regions
Pillar 1: Scientific Excellence & 4R Innovation
Upgrading the quality of research by training staff in emerging technologies that comply with the 4R principles: Replacement, Reduction, Refinement, and Responsibility.
Pillar 2: Entrepreneurship & Talent Development
Boosting transferable skills—including Intellectual Property (IP), business planning, and ethics—to bridge the gap between lab research and market reality.
Pillar 3: An Attractive R&I Ecosystem
Reversing “brain drain” by creating high-value career paths and modern infrastructure within the Mascarene and Macaronesia Islands.
Pillar 4: Sustainable Networks of Excellence
Fostering long-term, cross-sectoral collaboration between academia and the pharmaceutical and biotech industries across the EU.
FOCUS-4R at a Glance
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3 Outermost Regions
(Reunion, Canary Islands, Madeira).
11 Leading Partners
Academic and Non-Academic Partners.
90 Professional
Secondments to facilitate "Brain Circulation."
4 Core Ethical Principles (4R)
driving preclinical innovation.
+ THE 4R PRINCIPLES
Leading the Way in Ethical Research
Replacement
Promoting New Alternative Methods (NAMs) to reduce animal experimentation.
Reduction
Optimizing experimental design to minimize the number of animals used.
Refinement
Improving procedures to reduce suffering and enhance scientific quality.
Responsibility
Ensuring ethical standards, transparency and regulatory compliance.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
+ ABOUT
Partnership & consortium
The FOCUS-4R Consortium assembles strong complementary and interdisciplinary expertise.
In particular, partners from Advanced countries (CIC biomaGUNE, INSERM, Ocean TuniCell, NMS, C.RIS Pharma and Crown Bioscience) provide the full range of knowledge and expertise needed to train partners from Widening countries (CYROI, UMa, ULL and RunResearch) in cutting-edge biomedical skills—especially NAMs—as well as in transferable skills essential for strengthening cross-sector collaboration and improving talent employability in these regions.
It is worth noting that the partner from mainland Portugal (i3S), although classified as belonging to a Widening country, possesses advanced expertise in this field and can deliver valuable training to institutions in the ORs.
Their capabilities cover a broad spectrum of scientific skills, ranging from 3D cell culture to mechanobiology and bioimage acquisition and analysis, as well as well-established transversal skills units supporting career development and ethics.