Speakers discussed the importance of increasing collaboration in the field of translational medicine to ensure new drug developments are cost efficient, get to the market more quickly, and are more effective in treating and preventing leading health issues.
The event, which is taking place over two days at The Zuiderkerk in Amsterdam, saw over 250 delegates and key international translational research stakeholders meet to discuss the main opportunities and challenges in the field. Topics include de-risking projects and increasing R&D productivity with the aim of achieving better patient outcomes, new developments within the EATRIS-ERIC consortium, and discussions about how translational research infrastructures contribute to the overall field of translational research.
Translational medicine pioneers opened the event by sharing their views on the challenges and requirements of industry-academia collaborations. Keynote speakers included Prof. Mats Bergström, Ph.D., imaging-enabled drug development expert (Sweden) and Prof. Dr. Graziella Pellegrini, Ph.D., University of Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy).
Giovanni Migliaccio, Scientific Director of EATRIS, comments: “As genuine medical needs remain unmet, it has become increasingly important for our industry to bridge the innovation gap, coming together to work towards a common goal – developing new innovative, cost-effective technologies, products and treatment options for patients.”
He continues: “The theme of the conference reflects our mission: to bring the world’s leading thinkers in translational medicine together in order to foster collaboration and share thoughts and developments face-to-face.”
Prof. Dr. Nicole Déglon, Ph.D., member of the EATRIS Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) adds, “A structure like EATRIS will be key to bridging the gap between academic innovation and clinical transfer towards the development of new treatments – which are crucial for rare diseases.”
The Building Bridges in Translational Medicine conference is organised by EATRIS (The European Infrastructure for Translational Medicine) - the permanent academic translational research infrastructure supporting researchers and funders in mitigating risk and adding value to high potential products in biomedical development. It provides industry and academia with access to leading translational research facilities and key expertise across Europe.
The second EATRIS conference follows the successful inaugural event in 2013 and brings together the world’s leading minds in the field of translational medicine.
For further details about EATRIS, visit www.eatris.eu