Introducing the world's largest public-private partnership in the life sciences
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10-Jul-2014
This was a big week for medicines research. Not only has a major public-private partnership been renewed to accelerate the development of new therapies, the new initiative has a bigger budget and a broader scope than anything of its kind.
The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is now officially in its second phase. IMI2 has been launched and it is already calling for proposals in areas where new treatments are urgently needed.
With a budget of €3.276 billion over the next decade, IMI2 promises to bring together funding and expertise from the EU, academic institutions and members of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) – of which UCB is an active member.
The IMI2 Strategic Research Agenda draws heavily on the World Health Organization (WHO) report ‘Priority Medicines for Europe and the World’ which highlights areas of unmet medical need. IMI2 will also place a greater emphasis on speeding up patient access to new medicines.
Collaboration is key to making progress on some of the biggest challenges in medical research and drug development where no single organisation, company or country could do it alone.
UCB is at the heart of the action. Our CEO Dr Roch Doliveux is Chair of the IMI Governing Board – now in his second year steering this major player in innovation. He correctly describes IMI as a 'smart investment' in the future.
UCB is already taking part in a number of IMI projects and looks forward to the opportunities for collaboration that will be presented by IMI2.
The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is now officially in its second phase. IMI2 has been launched and it is already calling for proposals in areas where new treatments are urgently needed.
With a budget of €3.276 billion over the next decade, IMI2 promises to bring together funding and expertise from the EU, academic institutions and members of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) – of which UCB is an active member.
The IMI2 Strategic Research Agenda draws heavily on the World Health Organization (WHO) report ‘Priority Medicines for Europe and the World’ which highlights areas of unmet medical need. IMI2 will also place a greater emphasis on speeding up patient access to new medicines.
Collaboration is key to making progress on some of the biggest challenges in medical research and drug development where no single organisation, company or country could do it alone.
UCB is at the heart of the action. Our CEO Dr Roch Doliveux is Chair of the IMI Governing Board – now in his second year steering this major player in innovation. He correctly describes IMI as a 'smart investment' in the future.
UCB is already taking part in a number of IMI projects and looks forward to the opportunities for collaboration that will be presented by IMI2.
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Excellent, but what new medicines are we talking of? What therapeutic areas are included in Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and what clinical interests are a priority?
The goal of the IMI 2 program is to develop next generation vaccines, medicines and treatments, and aims to deliver clinical proof of concept in immunological, respiratory, neurological and neurodegenerative diseases in just five years. (i.e. Alzheimer’s disease)
The 1st Call for proposals under IMI 2 was launched on 9 July 2014, and the deadline for entry is November 12 of this year. Once the selection is made, we’ll know more about specific targeted treatments.
What is clear is that IMI will focus on addressing scientific challenges where multi-stakeholder input is essential for success, and based on 4 major axes of research:
• Target validation and biomarker research (efficacy and safety)
• Adoption of innovative clinical trial paradigms
• Innovative Medicines
• Patient tailored adherence programmes
Kind regards
Laurent