Hear from Prof Harry Sokol why gut microbiota are so important for human diseases and their treatments

The 14th EACPT Congress was held from 29th June to 2nd July in 2019 in Stockholm as a partnership between the EACPT and the Swedish Society for Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

The term gut microbiota describes the population of microbes living in our intestines. Gut microbiota are being increasingly recognised as important contributors to a wide range of human diseases, from disorders of the gut to cancers and neurological disease.
Gut microbiota also contribute to drug response and to risk of adverse drug effects. Gut microbiota also provide a source of potential treatments.

In this short video you can hear keynote EACPT Congress speaker Professor Harry Sokol from Paris discuss the importance for clinical pharmacologists, other health professionals and patients of understanding emerging key roles for gut microbiota in serious diseases and their treatments.

Discussants  
Professor Harry Sokol, Hôpital Saint-Antoine and Sorbonne University, Paris, France
in discussion with
Professor Tabassome Simon, EACPT Past-President

The next EACPT Congress
The next EACPT biennial congress will be held in Athens in June 2019. The programme will provide an international scientific and educational forum for discussion of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, including personalised pharmacotherapy. See more on our website.

Joining the EACPT
Anyone from anywhere in the world with a professional interest in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics can now join the EACPT as an Individual Associate member.

Membership benefits include:
* Discounted registration fees for EACPT meetings
* Online subscription to the EACPT Official journal: the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
* Access to the EACPT’s worldwide network of Individual Associate Members
* Active involvement in EACPT 

25th Anniversary
The EACPT was founded 25 years ago and now includes as members all major national organisations for clinical pharmacology in Europe, as well as organisations from further afield internationally. The EACPT aims to provide educational and scientific support for the more than 4000 individual professionals interested in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics throughout the European region, with its congresses attended by a global audience. The EACPT also advises policy makers on how the specialty can contribute to human health and wealth. Find out more about the EACPT ...

Future EACPT Congresses

2021  Athens

2023  Rotterdam

2025  Helsinki

Join EACPT to access new video library of talks on medicines from 2015 Madrid Congress

The EACPT has just released a library of almost 60 videos of talks from the 2015 Madrid

Plaza Major, Madrid

Congress. These videos are now available for EACPT members within the members’ pages of the EACPT website. See below for the list of speakers and their topics, ranging from Alzheimer's to cancer, treating children, regulating medicines, the patient's voice, medicines for low resource global settings, biosimilars, and patient safety.

Access to the videos is free for Individual Associate members of the EACPT.

To view the videos as an existing EACPT member, open the ‘Publications’ drop down menu on the members' pages of the website.



Click here to apply online for EACPT membership.

Anyone from anywhere in the world with a professional interest in clinical pharmacology and/or therapeutics can now join the EACPT as an Individual Associate member.

Membership benefits include:

• Access to videos of talks from EACPT Meetings
• Discounted registration fees for EACPT meetings
• Online access to the Official EACPT Journal - Clinical Therapeutics
• Access to the EACPT’s worldwide network of Individual Associate Members
• Active involvement in EACPT 

If you are an existing Individual Associate member of the EACPT and have any query regarding your membership login details for the website, please contact eacptmembership@kenes.com.

This new portfolio of videos enriches the existing library of videos of talks available on the EACPT members’ website from the EACPT Cardiovascular focus meeting held in Nijmegen in 2014.

Main topics and speakers

Biosimilar medicinal products. How to enhance healthcare systems sustainability without compromising clinical practice.
Martina Weise (Germany), Cristina Avendaño-Solá (Spain), Aleksandra Grozdanova (Macedonia)

Debate on therapeutic innovation: Does industry research meet the needs of society?
Xavier Carné (Spain) vs. Ruth Diazaraque (United Kingdom)

Debate on pharmacoepidemiology databases
Miriam CJM Sturkenboom (The Netherlands) vs. Tom MacDonald (United Kingdom)

Current challenges in cancer treatment.
Luis Paz Ares (Spain)

Novel insights in ADME
Janne Backman (Finland), Amin Rostami (United Kingdom)

Handling medicines in special populations

- Renal function in older people: Emmanuelle Vidal-Petiot (France)

- Rational pharmacotherapy in children: Imti Choonara (United Kingdom)

- Appropriate prescribing in older patients: Beatriz Montero (Spain)

Medicines and Global Health
Nicola Magrini (WHO, Switzerland), Lembit Rägo (WHO, Switzerland). Raj Long (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UK), Antoni Plasencia (Spain)

Drug development for regulatory approval and reimbursement decisions
Beate Wieseler (Germany), Pierre Demolis (France), Bruno Flamion (Belgium)

Key factors for successful research in Europe
Rafael de Andrés Medina (Spain), Jacques Demotes (France), Javier Urzay (Spain)

Implementation of Pharmacogenetics and Personalised Medicine in Clinical Practice
Raul A. Kiivet (Estonia)

Interventions that improve the use of medicines in clinical practice
Tormod K Bjånes (Norway), Romaldas Maciulaitis (Lithuania), Milan Grundmann (Czech Republic), Espen Jimenez-Solem (Denmark), Carl-Olav Stiller (Sweden), Mikkel Christensen (Denmark), Cornelis Kramers (Netherlands), Kirstine Moll Harboe (Denmark), Cándido Hernández-López (Spain)

Biomarkers in Alzheimer clinical research
Claudio Babiloni (Italy)

Medicines regulation, access to medicines and the patient’s voice
Denis Pouchain (France), Nick Meade (United Kingdom), Toni Gilabert (Spain)

Heterogeneity in drug response
Juan Tamargo (Spain), Caridad Pontes (Spain), Eduard Vieta (Spain)

Immunopharmacology of TNF-alpha: disease-transcending therapies
Roman Fischer (Germany), Johannan Brandse (The Netherlands), Marie-Christophe Boissier (France)

Pharmacovigilance - Risk communication to health professionals and citizens
Barbara Rath (Germany), Almath Spooner (Ireland), Frederic Bouder (Netherlands)

Drug Information and Decision Support Systems to support rational drug treatment
Robert Vander Stichele (Belgium), Ylva Böttiger (Sweden)

Hepatitis B reactivation. How to manage the risk?
José Luis Calleja (Spain)

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Risk perception in the therapeutic context
Brigitte Keller-Stanislawski (Germany)

Registries for long-term risks
Ignacio García Doval (Spain)

Drug Induced Liver Injury
Raúl Andrade (Spain), Paul Watkins (USA), Michael Merz (Switzerland), Herve Le Louët (France)

Training on medicines regulation
Arantxa Sancho, Martina Weise, Jorge Camarero, Antonio Gomez-Oute

Posts by delegates from the 11th EACPT Congress in Geneva

Around 600 young and senior delegates from 5 continents were in Geneva at

Jet d'eau - Geneva

the end of August, for the 11th biennial Congress of the European Association for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (EACPT). 

See below blogs by international delegates on sessions at the 2013 EACPT Congress in Geneva.

 

Laura Wilkins, University of Warwick, UK

Professor Gunther Hartmann on Oligonucleotide-based Immunotherapy: On the first evening of the 11^th EACPT congress in Geneva, Professor Hartmann (Head of the BONFOR research committee at the University of Bonn) introduced congress participants to the world of oligonucleotide-based immunotherapy.

In simple terms, oligonucleotides are short, single-stranded nucleic acid (DNA/RNA) molecules. These synthetic molecules are synthesized to interact specifically, depending on their nucleotide sequence, with complementary nucleotide sequences found in the body.

Antiviral defence in humans relies heavily on the detection of the nucleic acids of invading viruses by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptors (RLRs). Having worked in the field of oligonucleotides since 1995, Gunther Hartman’s research has focused on the immunorecognition of synthetic nucleic acids.

In particular, the group discovered that short interfering RNA molecules (siRNAs) are recognised by TLRs in the human immune system. The activation of TLR7 was shown to activate the pathway for production of interleukin 1 beta, initiating an immune response.

The group’s research then focused on the understanding of RLR mechanisms, these receptors being found in the cytoplasm of all human cells. Two RLRs (RIG-I and MDA-5) induce an innate immune response when stimulated by pathogenic RNA. In this way, a synthetic oligonucleotide to activate such a receptor could serve to stimulate an inactive or deficient immune system, or possibly even as a vaccine to protect against a particularly virulent virus.

Professor Hartmann’s group worked to characterise the signalling pathways and the structure of the binding pocket of the antiviral cytosolic RIG-I, involved in innate response to the influenza virus. This led to the development of an oligonucleotide mimic of the identified 5’-triphosphate RNA ligand.

This mimic (CpG) is currently undergoing clinical trials. Interestingly, activation of RIG-I and MDA-5 also caused apoptosis (programmed cell death) in animal tumour models (in melanoma cells). This apoptosis was not seen in non-tumour cells, suggesting a use in anti-cancer therapy.

Professor Hartmann’s lecture showed us that current research in oligonucleotide-based immunotherapy and even cancer therapy could still only be just scratching the surface of further possible applications.

More about the 11th EACPT Congress in Geneva. 

View and download Congress Programme

View Congress Abstracts ONLINE at the Clinical Therapeutics website

Professor Carlo Patrono discusses platelets, cardiovascular risk & cancer

Donald Singer with Carlo Patrono at EACPT Stand

EACPT Lifetime Award winner Professor Carlo Patrono from Rome discusses
platelets, cardiovascular disease and cancer with EACPT Secretary Professor Donald Singer.
Key themes include
- why the interest in platelets
- importance of bioassay
- studies with low dose aspirin
- the role of platelets in carcinogenesis

Listen to the podcast discussion with Professor Carlo Patrono.

Download transcript of podcast

Selected reading
Gustav Born & Carlo Patrono. Antiplatelet drugs. British Journal of Pharmacology (2006) 147, S241–S251.
Carlo Patrono and Bianca Rocca. The Future of Antiplatelet Therapy in Cardiovascular Disease. Annu. Rev. Med. 2010. 61:49–61
Giovanni Davì and Carlo Patrono. Platelet Activation and Atherothrombosis. N Engl J Med 2007;357:2482-94.
Michael J. Thun, Eric J. Jacobs and Carlo Patrono. The role of aspirin in cancer prevention. Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 2012 doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2011.199

Around 600 young and senior pharmacologists and other delegates from 5 continents were in Geneva at the end of August, for the 11th biennial Congress of the European Association for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (EACPT). 

More about the 11th EACPT Congress in Geneva.

Paddle steamer by Hôtel de la Paix, Geneva

View and download Congress Programme

View Congress Abstracts ONLINE at the Clinical Therapeutics website.

The Geneva Congress brought together a wide range of international delegates, including health professionals, clinical and life scientists, policy makers, professionals from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical communities and others interested in the spectrum from basic to clinical pharmacology and pharmacotherapy, and from drug discovery to regulatory affairs. For the Geneva Congress, there were 101 invited speakers from 21 countries - 15 from the European region and a further 6 countries internationally, from the USA, Canada, New Zealand, China, Benin and India. Around 300 abstracts from 57 countries from all 5 continents were presented as oral and poster communications. 

Future EACPT Congresses and Summer Schools
2014 - 11th EACPT Summer School - Nijmegen: 5-8 July
2015 - 12th EACPT Congress - Madrid
2017 - 13th EACPT Congress - Prague
2019 - 14th EACPT Congress - Stockholm 

Update on 28-31 August 2013 EACPT Congress in Geneva

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The abstract deadline for the next biennial EACPT Congress is only 6 weeks away: 8th April 2013.
See the EACPT Congress blog for summaries on many of the symposia to be held during the Congress: from new therapeutic biomarkers, to new biomarker and treatment targets (cancer, eye disease, predictive pharmacogenetics, inborn errors of metabolism, therapeutic drug monitoring ...), and how to improve safety in prescribing ...

The Congress will be held at the International Congress Centre of Geneva from 28 to 31 August 2013. 

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Over 900 participants are expected to attend including health professionals, scientists, policy makers, biotechnology and pharmaceutical professionals and others with an interest in basic and clinical pharmacology, pharmacotherapy, drug discovery and development, regulatory affairs and related areas.

Abstract submission

Registration

2013 EACPT Geneva Congress website.

Update from Geneva

The latest meeting of the EACPT Executive has just finished in Geneva in advance of the next major EACPT biennial congress, which is to be held in this lakeside Swiss city in the summer of 2013.

Here are three important updates about the EACPT's scientific and educational programmes:

The next EACPT summer school will be held on 23rd to 25th August 2012 in Amsterdam, with an excellent range of topics for delegates interested in education in key principles relevant to clinical pharmacology. See the website for further information.

At the next European Pharmacology Congress in Granada  July 17th - 20th, 2012,  EACPT Vice-President Professor Tabassome Simon from Paris will give the keynote EACPT lecture on the application of pharmacogenetic testing to cardiovascular therapeutics.

Cathedral and Lake Geneva fountain (jet d'eau)

The EACPT is developing the programme for its next biennial congress, to be held in beautiful Geneva, 28th - 31st August in 2013. Key themes at the congress will range from bedside pharmacology for special patient groups to pharmacology & toxicology, and pharmacology and society. Specific topics will include advances in personalised diagnostics to improve the safety and effectiveness of medicines, updates on new biological approaches to ocular disease, therapeutics of cardiovascular, cancer and inflammatory disease, clinical trial design and regulation, and drug safety and toxicology.