Unravelling the enigma of autoimmune diseases
05/06/2020Diseases that involve the immune system going rogue share common molecular patterns - we’re slowly but surely teasing them out
Newsroom
Crucial step towards EC regulatory approval of IMI-funded J&J Ebola vaccine
29/05/2020Studies indicate that the vaccine regimen is well tolerated, with robust and durable immune responses to the Zaire ebolavirus strain.
More - and better - patient data, whatever the disease
28/05/2020The generic architecture of RADAR-Base forms a reusable, flexible IT platform that allows for the remote monitoring of different diseases and conditions using a large variety of technologies.
IMI2 – Calls 22 and 23: updated topics available and webinar registration open
25/05/2020Tackling cancer through artificial intelligence, antimicrobial resistance, neurodegenerative diseases, rare disease diagnosis, clinical trial data, and patient adherence are the topics proposed for IMI’s next Calls for proposals. IMI has published updated versions of the draft texts of the topics that are slated for inclusion in IMI’s next Calls for proposals, IMI2 – Calls 22 and 23, which are scheduled for launch on 23 June 2020. In addition, registration is...
From a few months to a few clicks: FAIRified datasets can fast-track drug development
20/05/2020Messy but valuable research data risks sitting for eternity in silos unless efforts are stepped up to make it FAIR Voices calling for wider access to, and reuse of, data from health and biomedical research are getting louder. Findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability (aka FAIR) are crucial to allow analyses to be carried out on large-scale datasets in the drug development process. Recognising this, research gatekeepers, including the EU funding...
The story so FAIR
13/05/2020Making data FAIR could supercharge medicine development. FAIRplus is putting the principles into practice.
8 new COVID-19 projects announced
12/05/2020The Innovative Medicines Initiative has provisionally selected 8 projects for funding from its fast-track Call for proposals on coronavirus diagnostics and treatments. In addition, it has boosted the IMI funding pot from EUR 45 million to EUR 72 million. On top of this, EFPIA companies, IMI Associated Partners and other organisations will contribute over EUR 45 million to the projects.
Meet the IMI projects already helping to fight COVID-19
06/05/2020A number of IMI’s projects are making valuable contributions to the global effort to tackle COVID-19. The contributions include knowledge, tools and expertise, and while some come from projects in the infectious disease field, projects working in other areas, such as data management and Alzheimer’s disease, are also stepping up to the plate. ZAPI – knowledge and tools for a rapid response to a coronavirus outbreak COMBACTE – access to...
When data is FAIR, citizens ultimately reap the benefit
04/05/2020Generated at ever-increasing speed and potentially extremely valuable, big data could drive massive improvements in European health systems, but only if we can agree on a set of rules for the use, reuse and management.
Socio-economic legacy: EHR4CR's data reuse revolution
30/04/2020Electronic health record (EHR) systems are widely used in Europe and worldwide. These rich data sources can be used to address bottle necks in clinical trial design and, crucially, patient recruitment. However the lack of interoperability between EHR systems has traditionally limited the ability to efficiently combine the data across large populations for research analysis. The EHR4CR project was launched in 2011 to develop a platform that can use de-identified...
PHAGO partner looks to patent new culturing technique for deriving microglia from stem cells
30/04/2020An SME partner in the IMI PHAGO project has filed a patent application with the European Patent Office for an improved protocol for generating high numbers of human microglia, implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Socio-economic legacy: the European Lead Factory
23/04/2020The European Lead Factory is a collaborative public-private partnership that delivers innovative drug discovery starting points.
Got COVID-19 patient data? Want to collaborate? IMI’s EHDEN project can help you standardise it.
20/04/2020EHDEN is offering to harmonise organisations’ clinical data to a standard model, while preserving patients’ privacy. This will make it easier to aggregate and jointly analyse data from different sources, something that is essential if we are to stop the outbreak and save lives.
Socio-economic legacy: GetReal's real-world resonance
16/04/2020IMI project GetReal and its follow-up, GetReal Initiative, show new methods of RWE collection and synthesis could be adopted earlier in pharmaceutical R&D and the healthcare decision making process.
Addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on IMI Calls and projects
08/04/2020At the IMI Programme Office, we are very conscious of the fact that the COVID-19 outbreak poses significant challenges for IMI projects and applicants alike. Here we summarise the steps taken at IMI to mitigate the situation, and provide links to resources that may be helpful. Information for applicants We have extended the following Call deadlines: IMI2 – Call 18 (stage 2): deadline extended to 2 April 2020 IMI2 –...
INNODIA set to speed up clinical trials for type 1 diabetes drugs
07/04/2020The INNODIA project’s clinical trial master protocol means launching new clinical trials for drugs to cure type 1 diabetes will be faster and easier.
Draft future Call topics published online
06/04/2020Tackling cancer through artificial intelligence, antimicrobial resistance, neurodegenerative diseases, rare disease diagnosis, clinical trial data, and patient adherence are the topics proposed for IMI’s next Calls for proposals.
ECSEL JU calls for input on planned Call for proposals on decentralised clinical trials
03/04/2020ECSEL JU, the joint undertaking for electronic components and systems, has launched a ‘Call for Vision’ for a planned Call for proposals that would complement the work of IMI’s Trials@Home project.
The socio-economic impact of IMI projects
02/04/202012 years and 150 projects later, what kind of socio-economic impact has IMI-funded research had?
IMI networks are helping set up and run COVID-19 drug trials
30/03/2020IMI’s COMBACTE project is perfectly placed to support the DisCoVery studies of four potential COVID-19 therapies
New tools and trials combat the resurgence of whooping cough
30/03/2020EU-funded researchers hope a greater understanding of interactions between pertussis bacteria and the immune system, together with a toolkit for testing new vaccines, will help prevent whooping cough disease and deaths in babies worldwide.
IMI can help advance regulatory science for advanced therapies and digital tech, stakeholders say
27/03/2020Unblocking the regulatory challenges surrounding advanced therapies and digital technologies could be game-changing for all players, said attendees at IMI’s recent regulatory science summit.
“This is like a real-life experiment for us”
18/03/2020ZAPI is laying the groundwork for the response to zoonotic disease outbreaks like COVID-19
COVID-19 is a sign of the times
10/03/2020Repurposing existing drugs could get us out of the current predicament but it’s clear we need to prepare for more pandemics
IMI launches €45 million Call for proposals on the coronavirus
03/03/2020IMI has launched a fast-track Call for proposals to develop therapeutics and diagnostics for current and future coronavirus outbreaks
The secret life of tumours
26/02/2020In recent funding calls, IMI has turned its attention to emerging cancer therapies, seeking better understanding of things like the effect of tumour microenvironment on immunotherapy success
CANCER-ID hunts for cancer clues in blood samples
20/02/2020Today, many cancer patients have to undergo biopsy surgery to provide doctors with the cell samples they need to diagnose the disease and monitor how well a treatment is working. IMI’s CANCER-ID project has paved the way for the use of ‘liquid biopsies’ drawn from a blood sample.
IMI planning EUR 45 million Call for proposals on COVID-19
17/02/2020The fast-track, single stage Call will cover therapeutics and diagnostics to tackle the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. IMI plans to launch a Call for proposals on COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that was first reported in China in December 2019 and has since infected over 71 000 people and killed 1 700. The Call, which will be launched in early March, focuses on the development of: therapeutics to address the...
First batch of real-world data from prostate cancer studies added to big data platform
13/02/2020Partners in the PIONEER project have uploaded datasets from major studies, and are calling on others to do the same
New cancer therapies offer hope, but there’s still a lot we don’t know
03/02/2020If medicine developers are to invest heavily in immunotherapy, oncologists, authorities and insurers need clear guidance on who will benefit
PARADIGM: a ‘game changer’ for patient engagement in R&D
30/01/2020When and how should the health research and development community involve patients in their work? IMI’s PARADIGM project is trying to find out.
Identifying potential antibiotic leads is painfully slow, but these researchers identified 5 in only 6 years
28/01/2020ENABLE surpassed their goal of identifying 3 leads for new antibiotics. With more promising compounds in the pipeline, the project has been extended.
Cancer, TB, vaccines included as topics in latest Call
21/01/2020We've launched a new Call for proposals with funding opportunities in cancer, tuberculosis, vaccines, psoriatic arthritis and drugs based on proteins.
A school for patients? Yes, you can be an expert in that
21/01/2020Grassroots campaigners paved the way for the modern patient advocacy movement, which is becoming increasingly sophisticated
Web search keywords can help spot early Alzheimer’s cases
16/01/2020Researchers from MOPEAD tested different ways to engage patients, including reaching out to suspected early Alzheimer’s sufferers by flagging internet searches like “forgetfulness”
What patients really want: "Nothing about us without us”
09/01/2020Drug-makers have only recently started to give drug-takers a say in how their medicines are made, turning patients into a new generation of experts.
PET scans that show brain changes caused by Alzheimer’s give doctors confidence in diagnosis
20/12/2019Being able to visualise the pathology linked to the disease is a big benefit for diagnosis and patient management. Researchers from an IMI project that set out to get definitive data on the role of amyloid PET scans in Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis are hearing from physicians that being able to visualise the underlying pathology linked to the disease is a big benefit for diagnosis and patient management. The ability to...
Sign up for the IMI2 – Call 20 webinars
17/12/2019IMI2 – Call 20 will be launched in January 2020 and features topics on cancer, tuberculosis, psoriasis, drugs based on proteins, and vaccines. Registration is now open for the IMI2 - Call 20 webinars, which will be held from 22 to 31 January 2020 inclusive. Registration is free but obligatory via the webinar page. There are webinars on all Call topics as well as IMI's rules and procedures and opportunities...
Cache of research materials on understudied proteins now available to scientific community
12/12/2019The RESOLUTE project have made the DNA reagents for 446 solute carriers freely available in the hope that the proteins might be used as targets in drug development
Alzheimer’s project EPAD releases first wave of data to research community
12/12/2019The data comes from EPAD’s study into the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s dementia – before symptoms appear.
Alzheimer's researchers use AI to get access to brains
10/12/2019The Aetionomy project used digital technology to study brains without needing samples from living people, allowing them to simulate processes associated with Alzheimer's.
How competition nearly killed Alzheimer’s research
06/12/2019Repeat failures put the brakes on research until the pharma industry regrouped in a new, non-competitive, way.
Genetically engineered antibodies cut infection rates in a trial. Could they wean us off antibiotics?
04/12/2019Researchers’ hopes are raised after a trial using monoclonal antibodies to prevent pneumonia in ventilated intensive care patients gets good results
IMI research gets cited at double the global average rate
27/11/2019Report shows rise in performance, with IMI research cited 60% more than EU average and twice as much as the rest of the world.
Can real world data replicate a clinical trial? EHDEN study suggests yes
26/11/2019IMI’s EHDEN project dramatically demonstrated the power of using clinical data in research by replicating, during a five-day ‘study-a-thon’, the results of a systematic review covering 20 years of research, and a multi-year clinical trial.
New IMI project 3TR to advance personalised treatments for immune diseases
25/11/20193TR hopes to unravel the mystery of why treatments don't work in some patients.
Technology, not instinct, should guide antibiotic prescribing. A Q&A with Herman Goossens
21/11/2019Quick tests for bacterial infections are out there, but insurers won’t cover them and doctors are reluctant to use them.
Trials@Home project brings clinical trials to the patient
21/11/2019In the future, patients could take part in clinical trials from the comfort of their own home, avoiding the inconvenience of regular clinic visits.
How can we make clinical trials more kid-friendly?
20/11/2019IMI-funded researchers are inviting children and young people to help decide how clinical trials with child participants should be run.
A very promising new antibiotic just started clinical trials
19/11/2019Researchers from ENABLE are hopeful about apramycin because it has passed the stage at which most potential antibiotics fail.
Why it’s so hard to make new antibiotics
15/11/2019There’s no lack of chemicals that can kill bacteria. One of the main reasons there have been so few new antibiotics developed in recent decades – apart from a poor return on investment – is that researchers have run out of ideas on how to outwit the protective mechanisms of Gram-negative bacteria.
For small companies, IMI projects can help tap into new markets
11/11/2019CEO of TRISTAN project partner tells IMI about the opportunities that can open up as a result of getting involved in an IMI project. Karin von Wachenfeldt, Ph. D. is the CEO of Truly Labs, a Swedish SME that carries out preclinical research. Tell us about your company: Truly Labs is a small preclinical CRO (contract research organisation) that provides lab services for drug development. We are based in Lund...
New antibiotics won’t stop antimicrobial resistance. Luckily, there are other things we can try
05/11/2019Vaccines could offer hope - but who to vaccinate, and against what, has no clear answer yet. By Pierre Meulien, Director, IMI
Focus: Antimicrobial resistance
04/11/2019Antimicrobial resistance is becoming one of the defining problems of our time. As bacteria become resistant to the drugs that are supposed to kill them, scientists, policy makers and the pharma industry are looking at different ways to fix the problem before it’s too late. IMI has invested heavily in AMR research. To date, we have invested almost €800 million on 14 projects. In November, we will be taking a...
New IMI project puts immune cells in the spotlight
04/11/2019EUR 27 million Immune-Image project will advance the use of imaging technologies to track immune cells. Immunotherapies, which harness the immune system to fight disease, are revolutionising the treatment of many cancers and inflammatory diseases. However, while these innovative treatments prove life-saving for some patients, others do not respond to immunotherapies at all, and others experience serious side effects. The 5-year Immune-Image project, which started recently, aims to pioneer the...
Trial of second Ebola vaccine to start in Democratic Republic of the Congo
31/10/2019The trial of the two-dose Ebola vaccine regimen aims to help tackle the current outbreak and strengthen future Ebola epidemic preparedness. An international consortium will soon start a large-scale clinical trial of an Ebola vaccine regimen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is currently experiencing the second worst Ebola epidemic in history. IMI has contributed significantly to the development of the two-dose vaccine regimen, which is manufactured by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
Meet IMI at BIO-Europe 2019
29/10/2019In two weeks’ time, IMI will be in Hamburg for BIO-Europe 2019, which runs from 11 to 13 November. A highlight for IMI will be a session on the morning of 12 November on EU support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Among the speakers is IMI’s Magali Poinot, who will explain the benefits for SMEs of participating in IMI projects and show how SMEs can get involved in IMI...
Project to team up with African manufacturer to make diagnostic tests
28/10/2019This project is trying out a different kind of capacity building. Apart from hosting workshops and info sessions on the use of VHFMoDRAD's diagnostic tests, the project plans to identify and team up with a Senegalese producer that can make the tests themselves.
Spotlight on early-career investigators: an interview with Benjamin Falcon
23/10/2019Benjamin Falcon is a scientist in the IMPRiND project, which is investigating the role of misfolded proteins in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Dr Benjamin Falcon is a postdoctoral scientist at the UK Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, working to untangle the mysteries of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. He completed his PhD with Professor Michel Goedert and has developed an impressive track record of findings that progress...
Contribute to the research agenda of the new health PPP
23/10/2019Have your say on the strategic research agenda for a public-private partnership for health innovation under Horizon Europe.
Good data on medication safety for new and expectant mothers is overdue
18/10/2019A survey intends to get a clear picture of women’s experiences of medicating while pregnant or breast-feeding Video: Caroline Swain was five weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her health providers didn't initially know what treatments she could take. © The Pregnancy and Medicines Initiative The problem Evidence suggests that up to 95% of the five million women who get pregnant in the EU every year will...
As Ebola rages in the DRC, the world is closer than ever to the first licensed vaccine
17/10/2019IMI contributed to development of the most promising Ebola vaccines, helping to bring them closer to regulatory approval
Find out about IMI’s future funding opportunities
15/10/2019Cancer, tuberculosis, and psoriasis are among the topics that could be part of our next Call for proposals, IMI2 – Call 20. Also slated for inclusion in the Call are topics on drugs based on proteins, and vaccines.
How do you prepare for a pandemic?
10/10/2019IMI Director Pierre Meulien talks about IMI's reaction to the biggest Ebola outbreak in history and how the world is better prepared for future major epidemics.
EUPATI patient expert training course is open for enrolment
08/10/2019Applications are now being accepted for EUPATI's 14-month training course for laypeople on medicines research and development.
Data-driven personalised care for Alzheimer's patients
07/10/2019EU and industry-funded researchers are testing wearable devices, Internet of Things technologies and smartphone apps to transform the lives of people with Alzheimer's disease.
Focus on: Ebola
03/10/2019During the month of October we will be taking a look at some of the results of our Ebola-related research projects.
Two genes singled out as significant in the development of Alzheimer's
01/10/2019The PHAGO project has identified two genes that might have a significant impact on Alzheimers disease development and progression.
Ebola can now be detected in 15 minutes. Here’s how the diagnostics tests work
30/09/2019IMI backed three bedside Ebola detection tests that work quickly with minimal equipment or training.