Dutch health technology company Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG) (AEX:PHIA) on Thursday announced the launch of EXIT-CVD, a five-year research initiative led by Philips and University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) to advance how cardiovascular disease is detected, monitored and treated.

The consortium brings together 42 public and private partners across 17 countries and will conduct 22 clinical studies involving more than 14,000 patients, with enrolment for the first study beginning this month.

With a total budget of EUR27.6m, the project is co-funded by the European Union's Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) and industry partners. Its research focuses on three stages of cardiovascular care: early disease prevention and detection, interventions to reverse disease progression, and advanced therapies to manage later-stage conditions and support recovery.

The studies will evaluate digital patient monitoring, spectral computed tomography (CT) for early detection and risk assessment, remote heart failure monitoring, imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and artificial intelligence-driven imaging and electrocardiogram analysis. The consortium aims to develop evidence-based approaches that can be implemented across diverse European healthcare systems.

EXIT-CVD will incorporate patient collaboration, implementation science and equity-by-design principles to address disparities linked to socioeconomic circumstances, sex and gender, and access to digital healthcare. A digitally enabled, FAIR-compliant data platform aligned with the European Health Data Space will support data integration, evaluation and the wider adoption of project innovations.

The consortium includes clinical and academic institutions, healthcare technology companies, pharmaceutical firms, consultancy providers, patient organisations and medical associations. Industry participants include Philips, GE HealthCare, Siemens Healthineers, Medtronic, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson MedTech Heart Recovery.

The initiative is supported by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking, which receives funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and contributions from industry associations representing the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.