Based on the recommendations of the IMI Research Agenda, the IMI Governing Board has approved the IMI Annual Implementation Plan 2011, including the Scientific Priorities 2011. These priorities have been incorporated into the IMI 4th Call Topics.

In the frame of the European Project CONTRACT, which aims at analysing, improving and harmonising "informed consent" across Europe a questionnaire has been set up which will analyse the current situation concerning the legal, ethical, technical and clinical handling of consent, mainly in European projects dealing with vulnerable patient groups.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world's leading professional organization representing cancer physicians, released Cancer.Net Mobile for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch - a free app designed by oncologists to help people with cancer and their caregivers plan and manage cancer treatment and care.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), currently the largest public-private partnership in the biopharmaceutical sector, launches its second wave of research projects which address key areas including cancer, immune-mediated diseases, infectious disorders and electronic health.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that faculty from Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women's Hospital will use IBM business analytics technology at the core of new research that examines the effectiveness of prescription drugs and spots potential safety issues.

Researchers from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the University of Turku have discovered four metabolic enzymes regulating prostate cancer cell growth. Inhibition of these enzymes prevents prostate cancer cell growth in cultured cells.

Pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research recently released the ePharma Consumer® v10.0 study, which explores the online behaviors of ePharma Consumers, or U.S. consumers using the Internet for prescription drug information.