Press Release: Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI): €246 million to support public-private research cooperation for a fast development of better medicines

On May 18, 2009, 15 new research projects aimed at bringing innovative medicines more quickly to the market have been selected to receive €246 million from the European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). The projects will foster understanding of health issues such as diabetes, pain, severe asthma and psychiatric disorders while increasing drug safety. They will also help improve the training of researchers and clinicians involved in medicines development. The projects were chosen following the first call for proposals launched within the Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI), a public-private partnership – so called Joint Technology Initiative - between the European Commission and the pharmaceutical industry. With this selection, IMI has reached a key milestone. This initiative marks the first time that pharmaceutical competitors are pooling their resources, together with research organisations, patient groups and other stakeholders in large consortia, in order to develop generic, pre-competitive knowledge. The Commission's contribution of €110 million is backed up with €136 million provided in-kind from the pharmaceutical industry. The successful projects will now enter into the final negotiation phase.