Expertise offer: Medicines optimisation and innovation

The Medicines Optimisation Innovation Centre (MOIC) is a regional centre in Northern Ireland, core funded by the Department of Health. It is Europe’s only dedicated medicines optimisation centre and serves as Northern Ireland’s leading hub for advancing the safe, effective, and innovative use of medicines to improve patient outcomes.

MOIC combines pharmaceutical expertise with research and development capability, technology, and business insight to deliver smarter medicines use and better health outcomes. With a strong patient-centred focus, the centre addresses the challenges associated with ageing populations and increasingly complex medicine regimens through research, innovation, quality improvement, and knowledge transfer.

The centre works closely with partners across healthcare, academia, industry, and policy, both regionally and internationally. Through these collaborations, MOIC develops, tests, and implements best practice solutions within Northern Ireland’s health and social care system, while also supporting the potential commercialisation and international adoption of successful innovations.

Core Activities

MOIC delivers its mission through:

·         Research and service development projects focused on improving patient care and medicines use

·         Knowledge transfer of innovative pharmacy systems and practices across Europe

·         Development of integrated digital and technological solutions to support improved health outcomes

·         Training and professional development programmes for international healthcare professionals

Expertise and Research Capability

MOIC has significant expertise in medicines optimisation and polypharmacy acting as a partner in both the iSIMPATHY (Implementing Stimulating Innovation in the Management of Polypharmacy and Adherence Through the Years) and iMPROVE (Innovation in person-centred Medication Prescribing and Review for Optimal Value and Efficacy) projects. iSIMPATHY was a 3.5year €3.5m project funded by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme and managed by the Special European Union Programmes Body (SEUPB). iMPROVE is a 4-year, 10-partner initiative across Northern Ireland (NI), Ireland, and Scotland. The project has funding of €10.1m through Peace Plus and will consider the use of pharmacogenomics information in prescribing in primary care.

MOIC also has expertise in digital health technologies. MOIC was one of the 36 partners from across Europe involved in the SHAPES (Smart and Healthy Ageing through People Engaging in Supportive Systems) project which focused on user led digital solutions centred around the home and community. The project was funded by the EU under the smart and healthy living at home (Horizon 2020) work stream and was awarded a total of €21million. Our work in digital health technologies has focused on: feasibility studies, appraisal of usability and acceptance, and effectiveness evaluations conducted in real-world healthcare settings.

Partnerships and Healthcare Access

The centre has an established network of partnerships spanning academia, SMEs, multinational companies, healthcare organisations, and policy stakeholders across Europe and beyond. MOIC also manages the Health and Social Care Industry Partnership (HSCIP) on behalf of Northern Ireland, promoting effective collaboration between the pharmaceutical industry and the health and social care system.

MOIC can facilitate access to healthcare environments across primary and secondary care, enabling participant recruitment, pilot implementation, and real-world evaluation studies. The centre represents the perspectives of care providers, professionals, patients, and caregivers, and is well positioned to support user-centred design, co-creation, and validation of innovative solutions that address real-world health and care challenges.

Mission

MOIC’s mission is to optimise medicines use, enhance patient care, and lead healthcare innovation through collaboration, research excellence, and practical implementation.