Despite working independently, INEB has an institutional bond with IBMC (Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular), which shares with INEB the status of non-profit research institution of public interest and the building where they’re both headquartered.

In 2000 IBMC•INEB was officially granted the status of Associate Laboratory, distinction scarcely conceded to Portuguese institutions as it depends upon being rated Excellent by international evaluation panels. Thus began the INEB/IBMC collaboration, which has enabled a strong and effective interface between biomedical engineering and life sciences.

The Associate Laboratory IBMC•INEB definitely stands out as a success story of transdisciplinary cooperation in Europe. Recently, in 2008, IPATIMUP (Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto) joined both institutes to constitute I3S (Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde), a consortium aspiring to become a major European health research institution.