“The Innovative Medicines Initiative is making a difference to children living with paediatric diseases. Children represent 20% of the EU population and yet many of them live with significant unmet medical need. Less than half of all medicines used by children today are approved for paediatric use. And, for many therapies, there is little or no information about dosing in children. […] Cancer kills 6 000 young people in Europe every year, making it the leading cause of disease-related death in the under-19s. Today, 20% of childhood cancers remain incurable. To help change this for good, IMI is working to address unmet needs in paediatric oncology. […] IMI is pushing the boundaries of science to develop faster, better and more personalised treatments for childhood illnesses. The impact of this work will be felt by children, their families and wider society for decades to come”. This is an extract of the article by Heidrun Hildebrand, Paediatric Development Alliance Manager at Bayer AG, Germany, who underlined how Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), financed by the European Union and EFPIA, is contributing to develop new ways to plan and conduct clinical trials as well as promote children drug development process.
These efforts are not only necessary but will be fundamental for the future of our community, because “Society benefits from good medicines for children because their benefit is measured in decades of improved life. However, some children do not reach their potential due to ill-health arising from lack of access to diagnosis and medicines”.
You can read the entire article at this link.
