Launching the second innovative medicines Initiative: A step closer to the right treatment for the right patient, at the right time
09.07.14
IMI offers the opportunity to lead a paradigm shift in the way the industry interacts with regulators, payers and healthcare practitioners, and – thanks to its collaborative spirit – can help us tackle the challenges impeding delivery of improved and innovative healthcare solutions to patients. It’s always exciting for researchers – and society – when a new medicinal molecule of promise is discovered – but that molecule still needs to be translated into a treatment that will help patients, and patients need to be able to access that treatment.
Clinical research and the context surrounding it needs to change if we are to maximise the potential promised by today’s science and technology in a way that will improve health outcomes. IMI2 is a step in the right direction. From a misalignment of preclinical predictions with clinical realities, to misalignment of innovators with expectations of regulators and payers – there are a number of issues at hand that will be best tackled in joint efforts like those put forth by IMI.
As Chair of EFPIA’s Research Directors Group, I had the opportunity to contribute to the shaping of the IMI2 Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and I am immensely pleased with the outcome. The IMI2 SRA, which found inspiration in part in the World Health Organization’s Priority Medicines Report, outlines some of the major challenges currently facing the European healthcare system, the pharmaceutical industry and the regulatory framework – and provides an outline of the research required to address each of these in turn. Four major target areas have been pinpointed in the SRA:
- Target Identification and Biomarker Research
- Driving the adoption of innovative clinical trial design
- Innovative Medicines for High Impact Disease Areas
- Patient-Tailored Adherence Programmes
I go into these points and their relevance in greater detail in my previous guest blog for EFPIA, which I hope you will take the time to read. Today, however, I want to focus on the milestone at hand: The official launch of IMI2. By addressing the four points above in a collaborative manner, IMI will be moving closer to its goal of delivering the right treatment to the right patient at the right time. IMI ultimately seeks to make a real world impact by ensuring that new medicines will make a real difference in the lives of patients. Today, with the launch of IMI2, we are one step closer towards that goal.