ELPA Educational Training – DAY THREE, 18th November 2020

This ELPA Educational Training never ceases to surprise its attendees. The third day on November 18, 2020, was divided into two different parts. Before presentations from Pharma Companies, ELPA went sporty.

Yianoulla Koulla and Veronika Všetičkova, ELPA working group on MAFLD and NASH, animated a session entirely dedicated to practical steps on how to become more physically active. The first theoretical part, where participants also had the possibility to share their experience regarding being physically active, was followed by a live training session composed of some stretching exercises and some aerobic ones. Many participants asked questions and asked for advice related to physical activities and how to train as better and successfully as possible.

Straight after this first part, it was time for Pharma Companies to join the Educational Training. Dr. Judith Ertle, the representative of Boehringer Ingelheim, delivered her presentation giving an update of BI’s NASH strategy. Focusing on patients’ high-unmet needs, she started presenting the liver as a central organ for the metabolism and providing multiple essential functions. Then, after an overview of NASH disease, she showed different approaches to improve cirrhosis in NASH patients. She concluded her speech by giving some details about clinical trials coming up in 2021. At the end of the presentation, questions went in both directions. Participants were curious about BI’s commitment to NASH, but also BI’s representatives were interested in ELPA’s point of view on the topic.

After the break, some representatives from Norgine took the floor. Kym Jacks-Bryant, Head of Digital Centre of Excellence at Norgine, presented LiverSync, an App for empowering patients living with Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) to take an active role in monitoring their condition. She went deep into the App’s features and into its safety in terms of personal data protection. This new branch of technology applied to health care fascinated the participants who asked many questions and stressed the importance of these tools, especially in the current times when the COVID-19 crisis makes access to treatment and hospitals more and more difficult.

Before the end of the meeting ELPA President, Marko Korenjak reminded everybody of the topics of the next Wednesday’s ELPA Educational training webinar, inviting the audience to join on November 25, for another exciting ELPA training day.