Report reveals quality of IMI research

The excellence of research supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is confirmed by a detailed analysis of scientific papers produced by IMI projects.

The report, entitled ‘Bibliometric analysis of ongoing projects’ and prepared by Thomson Reuters, shows that IMI-funded research is highly regarded against research supported by other high-profile funding organisations such as Wellcome Trust and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

The analysis shows that by the end of 2014, IMI projects had produced 1,134 scientific papers, a number that continues to rise, and that the PPP’s research has a citation impact of 2.19, over twice the world average and almost double the EU average.

The report also found that 24% of IMI papers are ‘highly cited’, meaning they are in the top 10% of papers for that journal category and year, when ranked by number of citations received, and that research is collaborative, with 59.7% of all papers featuring authors from different types of organisations, and that around half (53.4%) include authors from more than one country.

Meanwhile, a letter published in the journal Nature Biotechnology by authors from IMI and other organisations emphasises the importance of using a framework of multiple indicators to evaluate different aspects of the performance of public private partnerships, such as the IMI. Currently, IMI evaluates issues such as the impact of its projects on medicines regulation, business development, the involvement of small companies and patients in projects, as well as socioeconomic aspects.

The paper, whose lead author is past IMI executive director Michel Goldman, notes that such a framework is needed “to compare and improve the performance of ongoing consortia and establish new ones that are fit for purpose”. Furthermore, a “robust demonstration of the efficiency” of organisations like IMI is “mandatory to support the assumption that they represent the way forward to boost innovation in the healthcare sector”.

The report, its sixth edition, can be read here.