About the Innovative Medicines Initiative

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is working to improve health by speeding up the development of, and patient access to, the next generation of medicines, particularly in areas where there is an unmet medical or social need. It does this by facilitating collaboration between the key players involved in healthcare research, including universities, the pharmaceutical and other industries, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), patient organisations, and medicines regulators.

IMI is a partnership between the European Union and the European pharmaceutical industry, represented by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). IMI has a budget of €3.276 billion for the period 2014-2024. Half of this comes from the EU. The other half comes from large companies, mostly from the pharmaceutical sector; these do not receive any EU funding, but contribute to the projects 'in kind', for example by donating their researchers' time or providing access to research facilities or resources.

IMI was launched in 2008 and currently has over 70 ongoing projects, with more in the pipeline. Some focus on specific health issues such as neurological conditions (Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression, chronic pain, and autism), diabetes, lung disease, oncology, inflammation & infection, tuberculosis, and obesity.

Others focus on broader challenges in drug development like drug and vaccine safety, knowledge management, the sustainability of chemical drug production, the use of stem cells for drug discovery, drug behaviour in the body, the creation of a European platform to discover novel medicines, and antimicrobial resistance. In addition to research projects, IMI supports education and training projects.

Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 funding opportunities July 2017

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) currently has three Calls for proposals open, giving researchers from diverse sectors the opportunity to participate in ambitious public-private partnerships that will pave the way for the development of the medicines of the future.

Why apply?

- Obtain research funding

- Take part in scientifically excellent, patient-centric research

- Join unique consortia involving top teams from industry, academia, SMEs, regulators, and others

- Benefit from the expertise, databases, and infrastructures of consortium partners

- Boost the visibility and status of your organisation in Europe and globally and gain access to new markets

Launched in December 2015, IMI2 – Call 8 is an open Call under IMI's Ebola+ programme. It provides an opportunity to capture emerging scientific advances and to progress those rapidly into healthcare interventions.

As such, the key deliverables of projects funded under the Ebola+ programme must be outputs that will increase our preparedness to react to future outbreaks of Ebola and other filoviral haemorrhagic fevers.

The Call is open for two years, and consortia can submit an application at any time; evaluations are held after fixed cut-off dates.

Next cut-off dates for proposals

14 September 2017 & 15 March 2018

Call budget

€55 million

More info & Call documents: bit.ly/IMI2Call8