EU and EFPIA fund Euro 2bn programme to speed new drug development

The European Union and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) are launching a public-private partnership to accelerate the development of new medicines in Europe.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) has a budget of Euro 2bn for 2008-2013 and aims to make the process of developing new medicines more efficient by funding research into new technologies. The project is financed in equal parts by the EU and the EFPIA.

'A billion euros will come from the European Union, via its seventh framework programme, and a billion will come from the industry, which is the driving force behind the initiative,' said a spokeswoman for the European Commission's Research Directorate-General. This initiative should create a contact between public research and the pharmaceutical industry, she added.

Only public research bodies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be eligible to receive IMI funding. Pharmaceutical companies will finance their own research efforts in full. As well as SMEs, the IMI will involve universities, hospitals and patient associations. In order to qualify for funding, research must be carried out in Europe.

The IMI does not aim to develop new medicines directly, but to develop new tools and technologies that will improve and accelerate the development of new therapies.

The European Commission and the EFPIA have been preparing this initiative for several years as part of the EU's efforts to make the European pharmaceutical industry more competitive than its US counterpart.

The IMI's executive committee will publish calls for proposals in function of specific areas of research established in a Strategic Research Agenda.

Partnerships will be formed between university institutions, SMEs, pharmaceutical groups, regulatory authorities and patient associations, and each public-private partnership will be able to propose research projects and apply for IMI funds.