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Message from the CEO
The vision of Molecular Medicine Ireland’s
Strategy 2009-11 is improved healthcare
through the development of diagnostics
and therapies from concept to realisation.
The mission of MMI is to mobilise the
strengths of the five partner institutions
and their associated hospitals to build a
sustainable national system to coordinate,
support and promote translational and
clinical research to achieve its vision.
MMI’s unique selling point continues to be its potential
to mobilise the strengths of the partner institutions and
associated hospitals, to build a national system for
clinical and translational research. This national system
is necessary to translate research into innovative
diagnostics, therapies and devices and provide an ecosystem
for innovation. In MMI we believe that the same
system can serve the needs of academic investigators
and industry as well as SMEs and start-ups that need
access to clinical resources to bring their prototypes
to market. MMI’s greatest contribution to innovation is
to integrate the capacity and expertise of the partner
institutions and associated hospitals to complete this
national system and make it accessible to all who need
access to clinical resources to improve outcomes for
patients and increase economic value for this country.
Given the scale of the problems facing the country, it
was not surprising that the National Recovery Plan,
2011-14, published in November, confirmed expected
significant reductions in public expenditure and
increases in taxation. MMI welcomed the recognition
in the Plan of the contribution of ‘productive, high
quality research, undertaken by highly skilled research
teams working closely with industry partners’ to
national recovery and the indications that support for
such research will continue to be a core investment
priority for Government. MMI was also pleased to
see the commitments in the Plan to deliver the long
promised Health Information Bill to ‘speed up ethical
review of health research trials and investigations’
and to investment in R&D industry/third level sector
collaboration.
Ruth Barrington took up her appointment as
CEO of the DMMC/MMI in October 2007. She
was previously CEO of the Health Research
Board, a position she held from 1998 to
2007. She is a graduate of University College
Dublin, the College of Europe in Bruges,
Belgium and was awarded her doctorate by
the University of London.
“In 2008, MMI and
Enterprise Ireland
agreed to work together
to speed up the time
required for SMEs
and start-ups to bring
their prototypes
to market”
MMI was also pleased that the Health Research Group
(HRG), co-chaired by the Departments of Health and
Children and Enterprise, Trade and Innovation made
progress with the implementation of the Action Plan
for Health Research. MMI actively contributed to
the HRG group charged with developing a national
Page - Molecular Medicine Ireland - Annual Report 2010