EU launches innovative medicines programme
The European Commission has launched an Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI).
The European Commission has launched an Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI).
The initiative will receive Euro 1bn from the EU's seventh framework programme for research. The Commission wants this money combined with €1bn from private sources to develop new methods and systems able to predict the safety and effectiveness of possible new drugs and medicines.
In this way, said a Commission memorandum, 'IMI will bring these innovative medicines on stream more quickly and with greater certainty about their use.'
It continued: 'IMI's goal is not the development of new medicines as such, but making sure the tools exist to bring them to market as quickly as possible with the highest safety standards.'
It will therefore finance research into safety evaluation; efficacy evaluation; knowledge management; education; and training.