We are pleased to be hosting our November BioTuesday at Ipsen's new UK office in London Paddington, with presenters on the night providing a 'Spotlight on the latest Rare Disease Research & Development in the UK'

Developing treatments for rare diseases is hard; patient populations are small (over 7,000 conditions are classed as rare diseases, with 1 in 17 people affected), research funding is scarce and markets limited.

From a research perspective, rare disease trials often require innovative design, and even when trials are successfully completed, therapies that emerge will need some form of commercialisation if they are to make it through the regulatory process and into the clinic.

For patients, the challenges are many and include gaining access to optimal care, specialist services, knowledge & expertise and dealing with a general lack of awareness about the condition itself.

During this BioTuesday we are pleased to bring together a group of experts working in the Rare Disease space to provide an update on the funding landscape, regulatory challenges as well as hearing first hand from a Rare Disease patient group. We'll also hear from a group of leading R&D companies at varying stages of development on latest treatments for Rare Diseases.

With thanks to Ipsen for hosting this special evening; guests on the night will have the opportunity to ask questions to speakers after the presentations and join us afterwards for networking over drinks and nibbles.

Outline Programme:

18.00 – 18.30 Guest arrivals and networking

18.30 - 18:35 Welcome from OBN and John Chaddock​, VP Head of R&D Business Strategy at Ipsen​

18:35 - 20:00 Presentations from:

Catriona Crombie​, Head of Rare Disease, LifeArc​

Laurence Woollard​, Director, On The Pulse Consultancy​ who will share an update on 'Therapeutic progress in haemophilia: a lived-experience perspective'

Richard Davenport​, Senior Director of Drug Discovery, Healx ​

Peter Nolan​, CEO, Blackfin Bio​

Mihriban Tuna​, CEO, Immutrin​

Charles Large​, CEO, Autifony Therapeutics ​

20.00 – 20.30 Audience & Presenter Q&A

20.30 – 21.30 Networking

Complimentary attendance available for OBN Members, research scientists & PhD Students. Ticket charges apply for non-OBN Members.

For more information, email events@obn.org.uk.