The IMI funding model

IMI2 funding The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is funded jointly by the European Union (represented by the European Commission) and the European pharmaceutical industry (represented by EFPIA, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations). Details of who contributes what are set out in the legislation creating IMI1 and IMI2.

For the IMI2 programme (2014-2020), the total budget is €3.276 billion, of which:

  • €1.638 billion (half the budget) comes from the Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing Societal Challenge of Horizon 2020, the EU's framework programme for research and innovation;
  • €1.425 billion is committed to the programme by EFPIA companies;
  • up to €213 million can be committed by other life science industries or organisations that decide to contribute to IMI2 as members or Associated Partners in individual projects.
 

For the IMI1 programme (2008-2013), the total budget was €2 billion, of which:

  • €1 billion came from the Health theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7);
  • €1 billion came from in-kind contributions by EFPIA companies.

 

Recipients of IMI funding

IMI funding supports the participation in its projects of organisations like universities, research organisations, patient organisations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and (under IMI2) mid-sized companies. Details of who is eligible to receive funding can be found in the following documents:

 

Contributing to IMI: EFPIA, EFPIA companies and Associated Partners

EFPIA companies and IMI Associated Partners do not receive any EU funding through IMI, but contribute to IMI through ‘in-kind’ contributions. These contributions are mostly in the form of:

  • Personnel - the time of staff employed by EFPIA companies directly working on our projects. This is important because our success is based on the way it brings together the expertise of people working in large pharmaceutical companies with the expertise found in other organisations, like universities, SMEs, and patient groups.
  • Other direct costs - samples, compounds, clinical data, etc.
  • Financial contribution - a transfer of funds from an EFPIA company to an academic institution within the same project/consortium. This financial contribution is used by the academics to hire researchers during the lifetime of the IMI project or to buy consumables or equipment.
  • Subcontracting - e.g. for clinical trials, subcontracting to Clinical Research Organisations, subcontracting to data management companies, lab services, communication, project management support, etc.

Details of what companies can count towards their in-kind contribution and how this should be calculated can be found in the following documents:

 

Budgetary control

Half of IMI’s funding comes from European tax payers, via the European research programmes, and we take the sound management of these funds extremely seriously. This section summarises how the correct management of these funds is managed internally and overseen by the IMI Governing Board, the European Commission’s Internal Audit Service, the European Court of Auditors, and the European Parliament. It also gives an overview of the checks and procedures surrounding the in-kind contributions made to our projects by EFPIA companies.