Wakam and the FondaMental Foundation create the Precision Mind Award to support Franco-British research on biomarkers in psychiatry

Paris, 2025 November 4th

Following the signing of the Franco-British consortium on biomarkers in psychiatry at the French Embassy in London on 27 October 2025, the company Wakam and the FondaMental Foundation announce the launch of the Precision Mind Award.

Its objective: to support Franco-British research projects to develop precision psychiatry through the identification and validation of biomarkers, biological indicators that enable the enrichment of diagnostic classifications in order to identify, monitor, or predict the progression of a mental illness.

These biomarkers will enable a better understanding of the causes of mental illnesses, to make earlier and more accurate diagnoses, in order to choose personalized and more effective therapeutic strategies.

Supporting the new Franco-British consortium for precision psychiatry

According to the latest data published by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one billion people worldwide are affected by a mental illness. However, they are not inevitable: recent advances (blood biomarkers, brain imaging and digital tools) are paving the way for precision psychiatry. The challenge now is to validate these discoveries and transform them into clinical tools recognized by health authorities.

In this field, France and the United Kingdom are pioneers, with the launch in October 2025 of a Franco-British consortium on biomarkers in psychiatry, which will support the collaboration of research teams from both countries to accelerate this transition from basic research to clinical practice.

In the same spirit of cooperation, the Precision Mind Award will support collaborative research projects, encouraging the sharing of knowledge and the pooling of data from French and British cohorts.

The Precision Mind Wakam-FondaMental Award to accelerate research on biomarkers in psychiatry

Major scientific advances are born from international cooperation. The Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium (GNPC) provided a spectacular demonstration of this in July 2025 by achieving the first worldwide identification of robust blood signatures of Alzheimer’s disease, paving the way for a radical change in research and diagnosis.

Inspired by this major precedent, Wakam is creating, alongside the FondaMental Foundation, the Precision Mind Award in order to support the work of the new Franco-British consortium** and to generate validated biomarkers in precision psychiatry. Intended for researchers from both countries, the award will recognize a collaborative research project focused on the identification and validation of biomarkers in psychiatry.

Selected projects must:

• Develop diagnostic, prognostic, or stratification tools;
• Improve the identification of homogeneous clinical forms and the understanding of mechanisms underlying mental illnesses;
• Lay the foundations for personalized medicine, adapted to each patient’s biological profile;

Who can apply?

The project will be open to French and British teams with a collaborative research project aimed at the discovery, validation and implementation of a blood biomarker for stratification and/or prognosis in psychiatry. The first call for projects will be launched in November 2025. The winning teams of the Precision Mind Award will receive a grant of €250,000, after selection by a panel of Franco-British experts. The first Precision Mind Award will be presented in spring 2026.

Mental health, key to a stronger society

This initiative reflects Wakam’s conviction that no society can progress sustainably if it neglects psychological well-being. The Precision Mind Award embodies this responsibility and this promise: to act today to accelerate research and lay the foundations for a society with better mental health, that is more resilient and more united.

It is also part of Wakam’s purpose as a mission-driven company, one of whose pillars is the Wakam for Good endowment fund which supports projects with strong social and societal impact.

«Economic and social changes – virtual economy, live better & longer, mobility, singleton – accelerate vulnerabilities. As insurers, we believe that innovation and progress must serve humanity. The choice to support a Franco-British consortium is no coincidence: it reflects our presence, with a company in the United Kingdom and another in continental Europe, and expresses our conviction that cutting-edge research can only be conducted on an international scale. The Precision Mind Award will accelerate research in precision mental health and pave the way for truly personalized medicine.»

Catherine Charrier-Leflaive, Chair of the Board of Directors of Wakam for Good, Wakam’s endowment fund

«Just as the pooling of international resources enabled the scaling up of precision oncology, the Precision Mind Award aims to support the new consortium to drastically accelerate the development of precision psychiatry. Because beyond being able to treat patients better and more precisely, this research will contribute to reducing stigma by showing that many mental illnesses are actually physiological diseases.»

Olivier Jaillon, Chair of the Board of Directors of Big Wakam

«We thank Wakam for its decisive commitment alongside us. This award aims to be a true catalyst for Franco-British research in precision psychiatry. It strengthens international scientific cooperation and invites researchers, start-ups and companies to join forces to transform the understanding of mental illnesses and accelerate the development of personalized treatments for each patient.»

Marion Leboyer, Chief Executive Officer of the FondaMental Foundation

The FondaMental Foundation: innovating to overcome mental illnesses

Created in 2007 at the initiative of the Ministry of Research, and dedicated to scientific cooperation in the field of severe mental illnesses, the FondaMental Foundation’s missions are: to advance cutting-edge research, to innovate in diagnosis and treatment, to contribute to the training of professionals, to inform the public and to bring together the various stakeholders in the psychiatry sector at national and international level.

It focuses its efforts on schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, treatment-resistant depression and autism spectrum disorders to offer hopeful solutions to the scientific and medical community, to patients and to their families.

One of its main objectives is to promote and share the state of French knowledge internationally in order to quickly achieve significant results and overcome mental illnesses. It benefits from legal and tax provisions to receive donations and bequests and to finance its research projects.

Find our results on www.fondation-fontamental.org