18April2024

Report on ClinCom events at the 19th Congress of ECCO

Murat Toruner, ClinCom Member


Murat Toruner
© ECCO

Dear IBD Friends and Colleagues, 

ClinCom organised two courses at the recent 19th Congress of ECCO in Stockholm. The first course was the 9th ClinCom Workshop, which comprised two sessions and attracted 39 participants.

The workshop aimed to share best practice and knowledge on various aspects of clinical trials, including:

• Designing and conducting new studies
• Learning from past IBD trials
• Setting up feasible trials
• Handling biological materials
• Addressing ethical considerations in trials

The target audience included gastroenterologists, surgeons, clinical researchers, paediatricians and industry professionals.

Eduard Louis from Belgium opened the first session by giving an informative lecture on how to source funding and Peter Bossuyt, also from Belgium, highlighted the importance of ethics and partnerships. Geert D’Haens discussed the crucial role of building the perfect study team and explained how to orchestrate it. Javier Gisbert from Spain gave an excellent speech on the difficulties in conducting multicentre studies and suggested various tricks that may be used to overcome these difficulties. At the end of the first session, Peter Bossuyt, Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet and Ana Gutiérrez held an excellent discussion regarding challenges in multicentre studies.

The second session of the ClinCom Workshop opened with a descriptive talk by Pascal Juillerat on how to design a study and what one needIt s to do in order to overcome problems before or during the design period. Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet then gave a fascinating talk about nocebo and placebo terminologies, their importance in clinical studies and how to interpret them. Finally, Naila Arebi from United Kingdom discussed how to standardise outcomes in clinical trials and how to interpret results. 

The 7th Basic ECCO (EduCational COurse for Industry), which was attended by 44 parcipitants, offered a comprehensive training programme tailored for professionals across industries seeking to enhance their understanding of organisational dynamics and management principles. This annual course covers a wide range of IBD-related topics, equipping participants with a solid foundation in the disease. Led by a group of physicians and nurses, the course offers a rich learning experience spanning various facets of organisational behaviour, leadership and strategic management. 

This year’s course focused on how to devise a strategy covering all aspects from the first presentation of the disease through to its medical and surgical management. It equipped participants, especially newcomers, with a solid understanding of IBD.

By bringing industry and medical professionals together, the course can foster better communication and collaboration in the field of IBD research and treatment. Equipping industry with a deeper understanding of IBD can lead to more informed product development, improved clinical trial design and better support for patients.

Browse through the gallery:

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    Pictures are subject to copyright © ECCO

    Posted in ECCO News, Committee News, Congress News, ClinCom, Volume 19, Issue 1