EU unveils €246m 'innovative medicines' scheme[fr][de] 

15 major research projects have been chosen under the Innovative Medicines Initiative, a public-private partnership which is designed to boost Europe's biopharmaceutical industry. 

The European Commission will contribute €110 million under the deal, while the European pharmaceutical industry (EFPIA) is providing €136 million of in-kind funding. 

Major pharmaceutical companies within the association will fully fund their own participation by providing R&D resources including staff, laboratory facilities, materials and clinical research. European Community funds will be allocated exclusively to other participants including SMEs, patient groups and academic researchers. 

The projects covered by the initiative will foster understanding of health issues such as diabetes, pain, severe asthma and psychiatric disorders, while increasing drug safety. 

The EU executive said the projects will address delays in bringing new medicines to market in Europe. Enhanced data exchange between researchers and better education and training in the pharmaceutical sector are also a central part of the plan. 

This initiative marks the first time that pharmaceutical competitors are pooling their resources, together with research organisations, patient groups and other stakeholders in large consortia, in order to develop generic, pre-competitive knowledge. 

The European Commission and the pharmaceutical industry welcomed the identification of 15 projects in key areas, saying the initiative would help ease "bottlenecks" in the pharmaceutical R&D chain. 

"I'm happy to see that this unique public-private partnership is bearing fruit. Our objective is for Europe to become a champion's league for biopharmaceutical research. In times of crisis, such a model of cooperation is proving well-suited to answering both EU competitiveness objectives and public health needs," said Janez Potočnik, the EU commissioner for science and research. 

Arthur Higgins, CEO of Bayer Healthcare and president of EFPIA, which represents the European pharmaceutical industry, highlighted the importance of sharing information. 

"I am delighted to see that this pioneering model of collaboration between industry and the Commission has been taken up so positively all across Europe. The IMI will set new standards in data sharing and knowledge exchange," he said.