ELPA educational training day 4

The last day of the ELPA Educational training on July 8, 2020 – exceptionally in a virtual form – was extremely dense with information, debates and exchanges among ELPA members, attendees and a remarkable variety of panellists.

After an introduction by ELPA President Marko Korenjak, the floor was taken by the first company, Novartis. Monia Steenackers, Global IHD Patient Advocacy Head and Nico Jansses, Global Medical Director presented about the Novartis Commitment to hepatology. After a first more general part, they focus more on clinical trials and that trigged many questions by attendees.

Before the coffee break the President, wrapping up the session, also added some comments stressing the important collaboration between pharma companies and patients’associations.

After the coffee break a special session started. ‘Medical research project and patients’ Perspective & discussion’ was a workshop part of EU medical research project MICROB-PREDICT, where ELPA’s main objective is dissemination of the project’s information and results. Prof. Dr. MinnekeCoenraad, gastroenterologist-hepatologist Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands, dissemination manager MICROB-PREDICT Prof. Dr. Dr. med. Jonel Trebicka, professor of Hepatology Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany, principal investigator MICROB-PREDICT, EF Clif, Barcelona, Spain, Prof. Dr. Aleksander Krag, Head of Hepatology Department Odense University Hospital, head of the clinical trial MICROB-PREDICT and Marko Korenjak, ELPA President – on behalf of the MICROB-PREDICT consortium – talked mainly how patients are involved and can benefit from this project.

Specifically, after an introduction by Marko Korenjak about a short case presentation of decompensated cirrhosis / acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) from a patient perspective, it was the turn of Prof. Dr. Jonel Trebicka. He gave the audience an overview of the project. Then, Prof. Dr. Aleksander Kragdescribed in detail ALB-TRIAL, the clinical trial that is part of the project. The fourth presentation was given by Prof. Dr.Minneke Coenraad on Dissemination, training, communication and why it is important to deliver the results of the project to the patients, the scientific community and also to the general public.

A presentation by Dr. Teresa Casanovas Taltavull followed a short Q&A session. She shared some updating information for liver patients about the Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Her detailed presentation focus on a multidisciplinary approach the liver patients can benefit from. As always, Dr. Casanovas Taltavull gave to the audience many stimulating insights and a lot of food for thought, stressing the important and delicate role of patients associations that are in between patients and doctors.

After the lunch break the second company of the day took the floor. From Bayer Medical affair Oncology, Pooja Merchantand Kirhan Ozgurdal presented about how Bayer engage with patients and gave an overview of liver cancer treatment. Questions from attendees mainly regarded late diagnosis complications, updates on therapies, dissemination of new information to raise more awareness, especially at high level, about liver cancer, and involvement of representatives at national level.

Just before the end of the meeting ELPA President, Marko Korenjak thanked everybody for their participation in ELPA Educational training webinar.