UCB CEO to chair IMI board for a second term
UCB chief executive Roch Doliveux has been appointed chair of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) governing board for a second term.
UCB has been a member of IMI since its initiation in 2006, with Roch Doliveux joining the governing board in May 2010; he previously chaired the board from 2012 to 2013. IMI is a public private partnership between the EU and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).
Roch Doliveux, CEO of UCB and vice president of the EFPIA said: “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 wellbeing 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.”
IMI currently supports 46 projects with a combined budget of around €1.6bn. IMI projects are tackling some of the biggest challenges in medicine research, with the goal of speeding up the development of and patient access to better and safer medicines. Additionally, IMI supports a number of education and training projects.
Discussions between the European Parliament and EU member states are currently taking place to extend IMI under Horizon 2020.
