IMI News
- IMI launches 7th Call for proposals
- Outlines of forthcoming IMI Call topics released
- Find project partners through the IMI Partner Search Tool
- Save the date! Join IMI for a special event in Cyprus on 11 October
- European Commission launches consultation on life sciences PPP in Horizon 2020
- IMI presentations at forthcoming conferences
News from our projects
IMI launches 7th Call for proposals
IMI has officially launched its 7th Call for proposals. The Call features two topics:
- Developing a framework for rapid assessment of vaccination benefit/risk in Europe
- Incorporating real-life clinical data into drug development
IMI’s Executive Director Michel Goldman commented: ‘Gaining more insight into the real-world benefits and risks and effectiveness of vaccines and drugs will help health authorities and companies to make better informed decisions about new and existing products. But foremost, it will result in getting better medicines to the patients in a faster way.’ The deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest is 9 October 2012.
- For the full Call text and details of how to apply, visit the Stage 1 page
- Read the press release
- Find project partners via the Partner Search Tool
Outlines of forthcoming IMI Call topics released
Outlines of the indicative topics planned for IMI’s 9th Call for proposals are now available. The indicative topics are:
- Development of drug-drug combinations
- Developing an aetiological based taxonomy of human disease
- Leveraging emerging technology for pharmacovigilance
- European induced pluripotent stem cell bank
The 9th Call for proposals is scheduled for launch later this year; the 8th Call, also due for launch earlier in the autumn, comprises topic 1c of IMI’s antimicrobial resistance programme (New Drugs 4 Bad Bugs). Visit the Future Topics page of the IMI website regularly for the most up-to-date information on the status of all forthcoming Calls.
- Find project partners via the Partner Search Tool
Find project partners through the IMI Partner Search Tool
IMI has updated its Partner Search Tool with keywords for the 7th, 8th and 9th Calls for proposals. Users can search for partners by keyword as well as by location and organisation type. Other tips for finding project partners include using your own network to contact known leaders in the relevant fields, networking at relevant events and through the open IMI LinkedIn Group, and contacting your local IMI representative.
Save the date! Join IMI for a special event in Cyprus on 11 October
IMI will hold a special event on open innovation entitled IMI – putting policy into practice on the afternoon of Thursday 11 October in Larnaca, Cyprus. Using examples from IMI projects, the event will demonstrate how open innovation can work in practice to speed up the delivery of results that will make a real difference to the lives of patients, especially those with diseases and conditions that are hard to treat. The IMI event will therefore set the stage for the Open Innovation For Health: A Strategy for 2020 conference, which begins on the evening of 11 October and is organised by the Cyprus Council Presidency. More information on both events will be available online shortly.
European Commission launches consultation on life sciences PPP in Horizon 2020
The European Commission has launched a consultation on plans for a public-private partnership (PPP) in life sciences research and innovation under Horizon 2020. In its proposal for Horizon 2020, the Commission sees a role for PPPs in addressing priority ‘societal challenges’. PPPs will be selected on the basis of clearly-defined criteria, such as the added value of action at EU level; the scale of impact on industrial competitiveness, sustainable growth and socio-economic issues; and the long-term commitment from all partners.
Through the consultation, which also relates to IMI, the Commission hopes to gather views on the launch of a PPP in the life sciences area under Horizon 2020 as part of efforts to tackle the ‘health, demographic change and wellbeing’ challenge. Contributions from citizens, organisations and public authorities are all welcome. The deadline for submitting contributions is 4 October 2012.
IMI presentations at forthcoming conferences
Below is an overview of some forthcoming events where staff from the IMI Executive Office and other IMI stakeholders will present IMI’s work and achievements.
- Workshop for Health & IMI Applicants
Bern, Switzerland, 6 September 2012
Senior Scientific Project Manager Hugh Laverty will give a presentation on ‘the Innovative Medicine Initiative: the upcoming call, background, objectives and aim of the projects’.
Event website
- World Drug Repositioning Congress
London, UK, 11 September 2012
During the opening session, IMI Executive Director Michel Goldman will deliver a presentation on ‘seeking to foster industry innovation through pre-competitive drug repositioning initiatives’.
Event website
- Future pharmaceutical industry in 2012
Helsinki, Finland, 20 September 2012
Michel Goldman, IMI’s Executive Director, will give a keynote speech entitled ‘Reinvigorating the Pharmaceutical Industry through public-private partnerships’.
Event website
- Virtual R&D models
Stockholm, Sweden, 27 September 2012
Dr Emmy Verschuren, Academic Coordinator of IMI’s PREDECT project, will deliver the opening address on ‘designing a public-private partnerships vision to master collaborative R&D projects in life sciences’.
Event website
- Innovation Days
Paris, France, 1 October 2012
IMI Executive Director Michel Goldman will deliver a talk on ‘fostering early-stage partnership among pharma and academia’ during the plenary session of the event.
Event website
- European Health Forum
Gastein, Austria, 4 October 2012
IMI and EFPIA will run a joint workshop entitled ‘Connecting new science, research and healthcare needs: is the contract between society and pharmaceutical industry up for renewal?’.
Event website
- Evolution Summit
Munich, Germany, 15 October 2012
IMI Executive Director Michel Goldman will give a presentation on ‘joining private and public forces to boost innovation in healthcare’.
Event website
- Vaccine manufacturing & novel production technologies 2012
Brussels, Belgium, 6 December 2012
Maria Teresa De Magistris, IMI Principal Scientific Manager, will deliver a presentation on vaccine safety and efficacy in IMI projects/
Event website
PharmaTrain goes global
IMI Education and Training project PharmaTrain is extending its global reach by signing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with universities around the world. ‘Affiliated institutions benefit from the Quality Standards of IMI PharmaTrain and share the interest to find a common process to train medicines development for integrated drug developers and to foster continuing professional development,’ explains PharmaTrain coordinator Fritz Bühler of the University of Basel. The move also allows PharmaTrain to benefit from non-European expertise in medicines training, and also highlights Europe’s leading role in this area. The universities of California and Peking were the first to sign MoUs with PharmaTrain, and the project is in discussions with a number of other institutions. ‘Eventually, one global training concept for medicines development and regulation will emerge which greatly facilitates global medicines development,’ comments Professor Bühler.
Join the EUPATI Network
EUPATI (the European Patients’ Academy on Therapeutic Innovation) is inviting people to join the newly-created EUPATI Network. Open to patients and patient organisations, caregivers, academia, pharmaceutical & biotech companies, journalists, and anyone else interested in finding information on medicine research & development in lay language, the network offers members a number of benefits. In addition to information on EUPATI activities, events and networking opportunities, network members will also receive invitations to participate in EUPATI surveys or focus groups and will have the opportunity to collaborate with other network members, for example on the organisation of national events. Membership of the EUPATI Network is free of charge.
on-course ® launches video
on-course ® has released a video explaining how different groups (especially current and potential students and course providers) can get the most out of on-course ®. Developed by IMI’s EMTRAIN project, on-course ® is the most comprehensive and sustainable biomedical and medicines research and development postgraduate course portal in Europe. Currently, the portal contains information on over 3 800 courses, and more are being added all the time. While on-course ® is probably EMTRAIN’s most visible outcome so far, the project is also making good progress on its other activities. The team sets out the project’s highlights so far in a recent press release and concludes: ‘EMTRAIN has made considerable progress in the first 2.5 years of the project. We are now in the process of developing robust performance metrics to assess the impact of the project, and we are exploring models of sustainability beyond the public funding period of the project.