The IMS (Strasbourg Institute for drug discovery & development), an unparalleled model in Europe

This new institute responds to the challenges of the pharmaceutical sector: to produce high-quality research up to the pre-clinical stage, promote technological innovation through the creation of start-ups and train a new generation of researchers in the management of drug innovation.

The institute’s essence stems from the close collaboration between its three foundational entities promoting an integrated approach to therapeutic innovation : a drugs research centre (Medalis), a school of management for innovation in drug discovery (Euridis), and an incubator for pharmaceutical start-ups

Thanks to its original model and the complementarity of the three structures, the IMS is durably positioned at the base of the value-development chain in drugs :

Strasbourg, a dynamic ecosystem and a strategic location

In a tri-national environment, Strasbourg is located at the fulcrum of the European pharmaceutical industry in the upper Rhine valley. The university is also part of the Alsace Biovalley competitivity cluster with international scope, and Strasbourg is home to the European instances such as the European directorate for the quality of medicines (EDQM).

Origins of the institute: brain-child of an internationally-renowned researcher

The IMS is headed by Professor Sylviane Muller, who is renowned for her experience in the development of therapeutic molecules.

Sylviane Muller is an emeritus research director at CNRS and ISIS, Professor at USIAS, and holder of the CNRS silver medal, the medal for innovation and the Robert-Lohr Prize.

Co-founder of Neosystem and ImmuPharma-France. She was also among the twelve scientists making up the Comité Analyse Recherche et Expertise (committee for research analysis and expertise) that advised the government during the COVID-19 health crisis.

Organisation of the IMS

Sylviane MULLER

Director

Comité exécutif

12 founding teams

Dominique Bagnard

Research director

Scientific Advisory Committee

Laurence Sabatier

Director of education

Pedagogical Advisory Committee

Ghislain Auclair

Director of technology transfer

Strategic Advisory Committee

Support team

Administrative and financial directors

Community manager

IMS brigade (platforms and OpenLabs)

“Animation” group

The directors of the three structures

Dominique Bagnard, PhD

Research Director

Director of the Biotechnology school (ESBS Ecole supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg) at the University of Strasbourg is conducting his research as a group leader in the BMNST Lab (Inserm). He is co-founder of two start-ups: Peptimimesis (2015) and Adaptherapy (2016).

Laurence Sabatier, PhD

Director of Education

Professor at the University of Strasbourg within the European school of Chemistry, Polymers and Materials (ECPM).

Ghislain Auclair, PhD

Director of Technology Transfer

Manager of the ITI since 2022, Ghislain Auclair was also co-founder of the biotech start-up Woodlight (2018).

IMS partners

The institute works in close collaboration with several public and private instances :

The technology transfer department at University of Strasbourg deals with projects being matured within the IMS.

The SEMIA incubator provides complementary mentoring for start-ups emerging from Inedis.

The historical partner of the LabEx Medalis, the Fondation Jean-Marie Lehn (FJML) has managed its funds since 2011.

The FJML is also the partner foundation for the IMS’s charitable programmes.

Thank you to the IMS donors