ArmInfo. The European Commission, through the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, has allocated up to evro 45 million for a research proposal for the Accelerated Financing of Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI) in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.
According to the press service of the EP, a similar contribution is expected from the pharmaceutical sector, which will raise up to 90 million euros.
To participate in the IMI contest, proposals for the development of treatment and diagnostics are accepted that will help to better cope with the COVID-19 epidemic and increase readiness for potential outbreaks of the disease in the future.
This call for proposals is part of the EU's coordinated response to the COVID-19 threat to the healthcare system, and logically complements the emergency research funding already allocated under Horizon 2020. That special call for proposals was launched on January 30 with a total budget of 10 million euros. In the coming weeks, selected projects will begin their work in the study of COVID-19 and its impact on infected people, with the aim of helping to manage patients and / or the health sector preparedness and response system efficiently.
Horizon 2020 is the largest ever multinational EU research and innovation program with almost 80 billion euros in the available 7-year budget (2014-2020), in addition to the private investments that this funding will still attract. The Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI) is an example of a public-private partnership between the European Commission and the pharmaceutical industry, represented by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).