The 8th Medtech & Pharma Platform Association Annual Conference kicks-off in Basel

BASEL CITY, Switzerland - Oct. 21, 2021 - PRLog -- The MPP Annual Conference is taking place virtually on 21 October 2021. Shayesteh Fürst-Ladani (SFL), MPP President, and Dorit Prüfer (Roche), Chair of the 2021 Annual Conference Program Committee, will open the conference and present the program.

Jacqueline Huh (Stop TB Partnership) will deliver a keynote address on current challenges for global healthcare and share her insights on lessons learn from the pandemic, stating that "COVID-19 has shown us that it's absolutely critical for all partners and stakeholders – from the affected people, governments, NGOs, innovators, etc. – to come together to jointly develop, introduce, and deliver new innovations that the people actually need and want."

Her address will be followed by a high-level panel discussion which will provide forward-looking perspectives on the development of combined products. Moderated by Shayesteh Fürst-Ladani, the panel will feature Salvatore Scalzo (European Commission), Anthony Humphreys (European Medicines Agency), Khair ElZarrad (US Food & Drug Agency), Jack Turner (Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency), Jonathan Sutch (BSI/Team-NB) and Birka Lehmann (University of Bonn).

In the afternoon, four sessions will dive into the regulatory framework for combined products, how digital healthcare creates value, patient engagement in product development and innovative approaches for combined products. Session chairs and speakers from the industry, regulators, a notified body, patient organizations, and academia will share their perspectives and engage with the audience.

Shayesteh Fürst-Ladani said that "since its launch in 2014, the Annual Conference has provided a forum for cross-sectoral exchange and I am very pleased to see that the virtual setting has enabled greater participation from industry, regulators, patient advocates and academia active in the pharma, medtech and digital sectors".

She added that "the recent developments in the EU and other regions show the relevance of stakeholder cooperation for the development of safe and innovative combined products, which lies at the core of the MPP's mission. The exciting program brought together by the Program Committee and the numerous discussion and networking opportunities will, I have no doubt, contribute to foster exchanges and synergies to achieve a balanced framework and better match patients' needs".

Over the course of the day, the conference virtual platform will enable participants to schedule partnering meetings with a broad international audience. The virtual MPP Association profile will provide an opportunity for current and interested members of the MPP Association to interact and discuss the ongoing advocacy work of the MPP. MPP documents and its Working Groups publications can also be downloaded from the MPP profile. Visit the MPP Annual Conference website (https://www.medtech-pharma.com/event) for more details.