IMI ramps up COVID fund

The European Commission has increased its commitment in IMI from from €45m to €72m stemming from the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. Another €45m will come from the pharmaceutical industry, IMI-associated partners and other organisations.

IMI decided to ramp up the funding allocated to the fast-track Call for proposals on coronavirus diagnostics and treatments when the call resulted in a “large number of high quality proposals”. In total, IMI received 144 proposals. Of the eight projects now selected for funding, five focus on diagnostics that can be used anywhere and deliver fast results, while the other three attempt to find treatments.

“The success of IMI’s Call for proposals shows that as a public-private partnership, we are well placed to rapidly mobilise top people from diverse organisations to tackle emerging threats to public health,” commented IMI Executive Director Pierre Meulien. “I am confident that these new projects will make valuable contributions to the wider global effort to tackle the current and future outbreaks.” Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, added: “We need to bring together the expertise and resources of the public and the private sector in order to defeat this pandemic and prepare for any future outbreaks. With this funding from Horizon 2020 and our industry and other partners, we are speeding up the development of coronavirus diagnostics and treatments, essential tools that we need to tackle the global emergency.”

In total, the projects include 94 organisations, including universities, research organisations, companies, and public bodies. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are particularly well represented in the successful proposals, accounting for over 20 % of the participants and 17 % of the budget. The list of projects selected for funding is available here.