Second Innovative Medicines Initiative to focus on the right prevention and treatment at the right time

(9 July 2014 – Brussels) – EFPIA has today announced the launch of IMI2, marking the continuation of the successful partnership of industry and public bodies efforts in tackling some of the world’s greatest health needs. 

IMI is a public-private partnership (PPP) between the European Commission and EFPIA, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. The first phase of IMI (2008-2013) was established with a budget of €2 billion. IMI2 has been established under the EU framework programme Horizon 2020 with an even bigger budget, of €3.3 billion – bringing together the public and private sectors in the largest healthcare PPP in Europe.

Roch Doliveux, Chair of the IMI Board and CEO UCB, reiterated EFPIA’s commitment to IMI: “Health will be a major economic challenge for Europe in the coming decades, and smart investment in healthcare is essential, for the benefit of both EU citizens and EU economies. IMI is a smart investment. Not only does IMI support a thriving life sciences sector – a key driver of future prosperity for the EU – it also gives us the collaborative platform we need to harness the potential power of new science in medicines research. By bringing together industry and academia, IMI can help us tackle existing healthcare challenges and improve lives for the patients that we are all striving to help.”

Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, Director, Health, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission: “IMI2 will carry on the collaborative spirit of IMI by bringing together the pharmaceutical industry, academic health research partners, small and medium enterprises, patients and regulators to advance scientific research and development for a healthy European society. This is imperative not only for the health of EU citizens, but also EU economies – a healthy society supports stability and growth, which is what Europe needs now.”

Paul-Peter Tak, Chair of EFPIA’s Research Directors Group, and Senior Vice President and Head of the ImmunoInflammation Therapy Area Unit at GlaxoSmithKline, added: “We expect the outputs of IMI2 to deliver real results for patients. Specifically, IMI2 projects will seek to advance trends in personalised medicines; to further R&D in areas of unmet medical need; and to address the regulatory context in hopes of speeding translation from research to innovation and making new medicines available to patients.”

IMI projects have already shown a positive impact on research and development:

• By pooling resources, the NEWMEDS project has created the largest known database of studies on schizophrenia.
• The New Drugs for Bad Bugs Programme has launched project to tackle the growing threat of anti-microbial resistance – a growing public health threat.
• The eTox project is developing a drug safety database based on both industry and public toxicology data, in a step towards greater safety for patients. 

The IMI2 Strategic Research Agenda was developed to address areas of unmet medical need, finding inspiration in the World Health Organization’s Priority Medicines Report. Projects aim to advance trends in personalised medicines; to further R&D in areas of unmet medical need; and to address the regulatory context in hopes of speeding translation from research to innovation. The ultimate aim: getting the right treatment to the right patient, together.

More information on IMI 2 can be found on EFPIA’s newly launched IMI platform.

About EFPIA

EFPIA represents the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Through its direct membership of 33 national associations and 40 leading pharmaceutical companies, EFPIA provides the voice of 1,900 companies committed to researching, developing and bringing new medicines to improve health and quality of life around the world. The pharmaceutical industry invests €30.6 billion on research and development per year in Europe and directly employs 690,000 people including 115,000 in R&D units in Europe.

EFPIA members are committed to delivering innovative medicines to address unmet needs of patients and reducing the burden of chronic diseases for Europe’s ageing population. EFPIA believes in close cooperation with its stakeholders to help create sustainable healthcare systems and to develop prompt responses to health threats in Europe.

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