A multi-stakeholder platform to advance the field of personalised medicine
The EU-funded project EUROBIOFORUM II (International forum for European life sciences funders and performers) brought together key players in personalised medicine to support collaboration, communication and learning. The consortium comprised three major interest groups from Germany, France and the Netherlands. During the course of the project, the EuroBioForum Foundation was launched to coordinate activities and deliver on the goals. These included facilitating strategic alliances and partnerships and stimulating relevant scientific, economic and societal progress. The overall approach considered a wide range of topics increasingly deemed important to the field of personalised medicine: health economics, education and training, information and communications infrastructures, and public awareness. Activities early on in the project's mandate included implementing an online communication strategy and the development of a Personalised Medicine Observatory. Various events were also organised for policymakers and funders, such as stakeholder meetings, annual conferences and a satellite meeting on transregional collaboration. One important outcome was initiating the Coordination and Support Action PerMed(opens in new window), which currently has 27 international partners representing key decision-makers in healthcare and patient organisations, research and research policy, and industry. Their work supports research and implementation of suitable personalised medicine approaches in Europe and beyond. EUROBIOFORUM II also organised workshops on Transregional Collaboration (2012 and 2013) and Education & Training (2014). It also conducted studies on biomarkers, education and training, and the impact of social media. Project efforts have resulted in a European network of some 2 000 stakeholders in personalised medicine. The transnational collaborations promise better communication about current initiatives, enhanced knowledge exchange, and translating research into practical actions. On the whole, the initiative should also lead to improved policies, strategies and research.