PerMediCon (Personalised Medicine Convention) will take place on 21st and 22nd June 2011 in Cologne. The entire spectrum of internationally renowned experts will take part in an interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge — at an event that is unique in all of Europe.
On hand to address the topic of personalised medicine at the second PerMediCon will be not only scientists, doctors, and professionals from industry, but also politicians, investors and decision-makers from public authorities and patient organisations. This holistic approach will be used at the internationally focused congress to make the topic of personalised medicine more transparent. Eighty renowned speakers and about 500 congress participants are expected to attend PerMediCon. And up to 50 companies will present their projects and products at the exhibition.
Rapid advances in science today are constantly expanding the range of possibilities offered by personalised medicine. The increasing use of “biomarkers” is making it possible to objectively measure biological characteristics, which provide data indicating whether there is a danger of disease and which medication should be used. Currently, only 30–50% of patients actually benefit from the treatment they receive because their specific characteristics are not taken into account.
The focal point of personalised medicine is the individual. “Personalised medicine makes treatment more efficient and helps prevent problematic side effects. This primarily benefits the patient. In addition personalised medicine can make healthcare more cost efficient by improving the use of existing materials and resources,” said Dr Frank Mathias, Chairman of vfa bio and CEO of MediGene AG, who will give a keynote speech at PerMediCon on 21st June.
A great highlight at PerMediCon will surely be the presentation of the renowned geneticist Francis Collins’ latest book Meine Gene – mein Leben (English: The Language of Life). In the book the co-founder of the Human Genome Project and Director of the National Institutes of Health explores the revolution currently taking place in the field of medicine.
Spektrum Akademischer Verlag is organising a panel discussion to mark the publication of Collins’ latest book in Germany. The discussion will take place during PerMediCon at Koelnmesse’s Congress Centre East between 2:00 and 3:30 p.m. on 21st June 2011. On the panel will be science journalist Dr Veronika Hackenbroch of SPIEGEL magazine, Prof Theo Dingermann from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology at Frankfurt University, Dr Karl-Gustav Werner from the Stiftung Personalisierte Medizin (Personalised Medicine Foundation), and others.
Not only the congress participants but also interested private visitors are invited to attend this event. Admission is free of charge. As the organiser of PerMediCon, Koelnmesse GmbH will also enable attendees to view the specialist exhibition that will be on display during the congress.
Personalised medicine-related research findings, current projects, products, services and networks will be presented in concentrated formats in this exhibition. Among the companies and organisations presenting at this exhibition will be Miltenyi Biotec, Qiagen, HA Hessen Agentur GmbH, the Cluster for Individualised Immune Intervention, the Leibniz Institute, bio.logis GmbH, and Greifswald University Hospital (GANI_MED joint project). In addition, the congress programme will feature speakers from a wide variety of institutions (e.g. BfArM, PEI, IQWiG, GKV association), companies (including Roche Pharma AG, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Cytolon AG, Janssen-Cilag GmbH, Life & Brain), scientific institutes, the medical profession, patient organisations and politics.
