The IMI 2 legislation was approved by the EU Member States on 6 May 2014. The goal of the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI 2) is to develop next generation vaccines, medicines and treatments, such as new antibiotics. It will build on the successes and lessons learnt under IMI. Like IMI, it will bring together companies, universities, public laboratories, innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), patient groups and regulators in collaborative projects that will pave the way for breakthrough vaccines, medicines and treatments to tackle Europe’s growing health challenges, and secure the future international competitiveness of Europe’s pharmaceutical industry.
In particular, IMI 2 aims to deliver:
- a 30% better success rate in clinical trials of priority medicines identified by the WHO;
- clinical proof of concept in immunological, respiratory, neurological and neurodegenerative diseases in just five years;
- new and approved diagnostic markers for four of these diseases and at least two new medicines which could either be new antibiotics or new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.
Within 2014 two calls for proposals will be launched. Call 1 will focus on the following topics:
- Translational approaches to disease modifying therapy of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM)
Expertise requested/required:
research physicians (paediatric endocrinologists, immunologists),
basic researchers in field of immunology/beta cell biology,
biomarker specialists (could be SMEs),
bioinformaticians and big data managers,
regulatory health authorities,
clinical trialists,
translational medicines experts.
- Discovery and validation of novel endpoints in retinal diseases
Expertise requested/required:
Strong clinical expertise in ophthalmology
Strong clinical research experience
Access to patients and databases
Public health expertise
Health economics expertise
Understanding of pre-clinical models in ophthalmology
Call 2 will focus on the following themes:
- RADAR: Remote assessment of disease and relapse
Clinical & patients organisations that support the development of and patient engagement in clinical trials that use remote assessment technology.
Sensor/device companies that have developed technology that enables remote measurements of physiological or behavioural measurements.
Data management and analytical organisations that enable the collection and analysis of remote assessment data.
Regulatory agencies to participate in the development of policies that enable bringing this technology to market.
A webminar is organized on 11th June 2014. For more information check the following web site:
http://www.fitforhealth.eu/content/webinar-new-innovative-medicines-initiative-imi
