New Executive Director of Innovative Health Initiative

Dr Blomberg brings to IHI years of experience in both research and leadership roles. A Swedish national, he has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Gothenburg, and a PhD in structural biology and bioinformatics from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Germany.

He worked as a research scientist for AstraZeneca in Sweden for 14 years, taking on increasingly senior roles in the company, and leading the establishment of a team for data-driven drug discovery in the respiratory and inflammation fields. During this time, he was industry co-lead of Open PHACTS, a project funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), the forerunner to IHI.

In 2013, he joined the fledgling research infrastructure ELIXIR. As its founding director, he oversaw the final negotiations between the member states to formally establish and launch ELIXIR. Under his leadership, the organisation built up its operational and project management capacity, grew to include 23 member states, and secured funding from both the member states and an extensive portfolio of EU-funded projects, including IMI projects.

The mandate of the previous Executive Director, Dr Pierre Meulien, ended in September 2022. Meanwhile, the IHI Governing Board appointed Dr Hugh Laverty, IHI’s Head of Scientific Operations, to serve as Executive Director ad interim. He will continue to lead the organisation until Dr Blomberg takes up his duties in mid-January 2024.

IHI is a EUR 2.4 billion public-private partnership between the European Union and Europe’s health industries, represented by the industry associations COCIR, EFPIA, EuropaBio, MedTech Europe, and Vaccines Europe. It supports large-scale, ambitious projects designed to translate health research and innovation into tangible benefits for patients and society.