IMI at BIO-EUROPE

From 6 to 8 November 2017 IMI was at BIO-EUROPE, which took place at the CityCube Berlin, Germany. Sharing an exhibition stand with the European Commission, IMI was part of the networking programme of the event in order to meet SMEs, researchers and any other stakeholders interested in IMI funding and opportunities. 

About the session

IMI was also part of the programme of BIO-EUROPE, teaming up with the European Commission in the organisation of a conference session. This session took place on Tuesday 7 November 2017 from 09:00 to 10:30.

EU funding for health research SMEs: The European Innovation Council and beyond
How does an innovative and ambitious Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) succeed in accessing European Union (EU) funds to develop new healthcare solutions? This session provided concrete examples of successful SME participation in EU–funded projects and informative insights and advice for applicants from EU policymakers. Due to increasing difficulties in obtaining venture capital funds for life sciences, public support for SMEs in health research is becoming vital. The EU helps to improve the conditions for the emergence and rapid scale-up of highly innovative enterprises by launching the European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot. The EIC supports top-class innovators with the ambition to scale up at the European and global levels by providing funding, mentoring and networking opportunities. The objective is to strengthen breakthrough innovations and boost the number of high-growth companies. The session provided an overview of the EIC opportunities and also introduce other Horizon 2020 funding schemes relevant for SMEs, such as calls for collaborative proposals, including the Innovative Medicines Initiative, and InnovFin—the EU Finance for Innovators, co-developed with the European Investment Bank (EIB). For a dynamic and interactive discussion, we brought together representatives from the European Commission, the Innovative Medicines Initiative, the EIB and an EU–funded SME.

Speakers in the session included:

• Stefan Beyer, CEO and Managing Director of Vibalogics, Managing Entity of the IMI EBOMAN project
• Shiva Dustdar, Head of Division, Innovation Finance Advisory
• Pierre Meulien, Executive Director, Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)
• Cornelius Schmaltz, Head of Unit for Strategy, Health Directorate of the European Commission's DG Research and Innovation

For more information, please visit the BIO-EUROPE website.