IMI at BIO 2019

IMI took part in the BIO International Convention 2019 through the organisation of two sessions in the education programme and participation in the exhibition.

The convention took place in Philadelphia, US, from 3 to 6 June 2019.

IMI session: Getting to grips with data quality issues through international neuroscience initiatives

Tuesday 4 June, 14:00 | Room 116 | Session ID: 503503 | Track: Brain health

Research has a data problem. It is increasingly clear that there are issues with the robustness, rigor, and validity of research data. In the complex area of neuroscience, especially dementia, this exacerbates the challenge of translating results from the lab into humans and raises questions of scientific integrity. Today, there are no comprehensive guiding principles governing data quality in pre-clinical neuroscience research. How can we develop practical tools and resources that are easy to apply across research settings? How can we encourage their uptake and use? Here, diverse speakers discussed efforts made worldwide to deliver tools and resources to improve the quality of research data in neuroscience. International initiatives will increase data quality in preclinical studies; reduce research waste; improve patient safety; and build confidence between partners along the medical research and drug development pathway. Importantly, they will also boost public trust in research. Among other things, this session discussed the work of IMI's EQIPD project.

Speakers and presentations

• Pierre Meulien, Executive Director, Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) (Moderator) - presentation
• Emily Sena, Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh - presentation
• Shai Silberberg, Director of Research Quality, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
• Thomas Steckler, Associate Director, Bioresearch and Quality and Compliance, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Johnson & Johnson - presentation

IMI session: Building a brighter future for children: How will large paediatric trial networks help to deliver safe, effective medicines?

Wednesday 5 June, 16:15 | Room 111AB | Session ID: 503213 | Track: Regulatory innovation

When children fall ill, they deserve to receive treatments that are both safe and effective. Yet 50% of medicines used in children have never been tested in children. That figure rises to 90% for babies. Legislation on both sides of the Atlantic is boosting the testing of medicines in paediatric populations, yet challenges remain. For example, it is often hard to find enough young patients to carry out a clinical trial, so trials last longer and are more likely to stall. In this session, diverse speakers discussed initiatives in the US and Europe that are setting up large-scale collaborative paediatric clinical trial networks to improve the conduct of trials, facilitate the participation of children and promote novel trial designs. How are they setting up the networks in practice? How are parents, children and regulators included in the networks’ activities? And most importantly, how can these networks collaborate and learn from one another for the benefit of children worldwide? This session included a discussion on IMI's C4C project.

Speakers and presentations

• Pierre Meulien, Executive Director, Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) (Moderator) - presentation
• Annette Bakker, President, Children’s Tumor Foundation - presentation
• Sam Maldonado, Vice President, Head of Child Health Innovation and Leadership Department (CHILD), Johnson & Johnson - presentation
• Gerri Baer, Medical Officer, Neonatology Team Leader, Office of Pediatric Therapeutics, U.S. Food and Drug Administration - presentation

IMI at the exhibition

IMI was also present at the European Commission’s booth (no. 2701) at the BIO Exhibition. There were people on hand throughout the event to answer questions about IMI as well as the European Commission’s wider research programmes. There were regular mini sessions at the stand on a variety of subjects relating to the EU’s research programmes.

About BIO

The BIO International Convention (BIO) attracts 16 000+ biotechnology and pharma leaders who come together for one week of intensive networking to discover new opportunities and promising partnerships. The theme in 2019 was 'It starts with one' - one meeting, one theory, one trial, one breakthrough. The programme included a strong educational programme with over 150 sessions addressing cutting-edge issues in a wide spectrum of life science and application areas. The event exhibition featured over 1 800 exhibitors including several international pavilions.

Event website: convention.bio.org

Twitter: #BIO2019