IMI currently supports 46 projects with a combined budget of around €1.6 billion. IMI projects are tackling some of the biggest challenges in medicines research, with the goal speeding up the development of, and patient access to, better and safer medicines. In addition, IMI supports a number of education & training projects. IMI has proved highly successful and a proposal to extend the initiative is now under discussion in the European Parliament and the EU Member States.
Roch Doliveux, CEO of UCB and Vice President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Association (EFPIA) says: "Never has science given us so many opportunities to innovate and provide better health to citizens around the world. Yet science is now so complex that no one can harness its potential on its own. IMI is the biggest public-private partnership of its kind, and a role model for open innovation and knowledge sharing between the industry and academia. It is also without a doubt a key instrument to increase the well-being of patients across Europe."
Michel Goldman, Executive Director of IMI said: "Roch Doliveux has long been a strong supporter of IMI, and his dedication and vision, and those of his colleagues on the Governing Board, have helped to make IMI the strong, successful organisation it is today. I am confident that his leadership skills, combined with his focus on the needs of patients, will ensure IMI goes from strength to strength as it moves into the next phase of its existence."
UCB is a significant contributor to the Innovative Medicines Initiative. UCB is participating in 21 of the consortia within IMI, leading 3 projects with academic partners: BTCURE, PRECISEADS and AETIONOMY.
About Roch Doliveux
Roch Doliveux has been UCB's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Committee for the last ten years. Under his leadership, UCB has developed into a focused patient-centric biopharmaceutical leader recognized for its attractive growth prospects and productive pipeline. In February 2014, Roch Doliveux announced that he will hand over his CEO responsibilities to Jean-Christophe Tellier on January 1. He is a member of the Board of Directors of UCB, a member of the Board of Stryker Corporation and of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and Vice President on the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Association (EFPIA) Board. He also chairs the Caring Entrepreneurship Fund (King Baudouin Foundation), a philanthropic initiative which supports entrepreneurship in health and wellness.
About IMI
The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is the world's largest public-private partnership in health. IMI is improving the environment for pharmaceutical innovation in Europe by engaging and supporting networks of industrial and academic experts in collaborative research projects. The European Union contributes €1 billion to the IMI research programme, and this is matched by in kind contributions worth at least another €1 billion from the member companies of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). The Innovative Medicines Initiative currently supports 46 projects, many of which are already producing impressive results. The projects are all working to address the biggest challenges in drug development, with the goal of accelerating the development of safer and more effective
treatments for patients.
About UCB
UCB, Brussels, Belgium is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the central nervous system. With more than 8500 people in approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of € 3.4 billion in 2013. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB).