EDITORIAL:
Progress of Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)
It is almost two years since the Strategic Research Agenda for IMI was first published in draft by the European Commission. MVA started working in August 2005, with preparations for this public-private initiative. We anticipated a rapid process thanks to the involvement by EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations), but experienced what probably is the normal pace for European research decisions. And it is a grand decision - to use 1 billion Euros of the taxpayers' money to strengthen the competitiveness of European pharmaceutical industry. This is half of the IMI funding - the other half comes from the industry itself.
Now in June 2007, the IMI proposal was sent from the Commission to the Council, which in turn forwards it to all member states before it can be approved and the real work initiated, presumably in early 2008. Initially, the IMI Executive Office was to be localized outside Brussels. The Swedish and Danish Pharmaceutical Industry Organisations (LIF and Lif) supported MVA's work to promote Medicon Valley as a host for the Executive Office. Also the Nordic Innovation Center supported the project in a wider Nordic/Baltic context. We got supporters from Iceland to Estonia, including amongst others the Karolinska Institutet, TEKES and the Polish Ministry of Research. But the current proposal states Brussels - and even implies that all other initiatives similar to IMI will have to stay there.
Fortunately, our work was all the time directed to prepare not only for an Executive Office, but also for the coming research calls. This included a mapping of the Centres of Excellence and SMEs (small and medium sized companies), which are potential members of research consortia to carry out the tasks lined out in the IMI Research Agenda. With the new support from the Danish Strategic Research Council, MVA will proceed from the desk stage to matchmaking in practice. The primary aim is to secure Medicon Valley participation in IMI wherever we can make a difference in this European tour de force. A secondary aim is to include the excellent Nordic/Baltic centres already on the map, via an extended project or in collaboration with others.
Best regards,
Stina Gestrelius, Deputy Managing Director
For more information, read the press release from MVA, LIF and Lif (24.05.2007) regarding the decision to locate the IMI Executive Office in Brussels.