Amsterdam, May 12, 2023concluded on Friday, as a record 650-plus attendees gathered in Amsterdam for three days of learning and networking at the most comprehensive regulatory affairs conference in Europe.
Last year's Euro Convergence, also in Amsterdam following two years of online conferences, set the record as RAPS' largest event in Europe. This year's conference exceeded that mark, with delegates from more than 36 countries across five continents and setting a new benchmark for RAPS European events.
"We saw last year how important it was for the profession to attend a conference in person," said conference committee co-chair Siegfried Schmitt, vice president, technical at Parexel. "The sold-out attendance and energy this year truly reinforce the relevance and value of RAPS Euro Convergence. It's simply fantastic!"
RAPS Euro Convergence is the most comprehensive regulatory affairs conference in Europe, focusing on the latest developments in healthcare products in Europe and beyond-medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biologics, diagnostics, and digital health. Here are some highlights from this year's record-setting event.
An opening plenary session dedicated to transparency in European medical safety information
Wednesday's opening plenary sessionmarked the official start of this year's conference with a panel discussion during which the panelists agreed that safety information related to medical products in Europe should be accessible and presented in a way that it can be understood by the public.
They argued that information in the EUDAMED database for medical devices and the EU Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) needs to be presented in such a way that patients have enough understanding to advocate for their own care.
"Patient safety and access to data go hand in hand," said Jet Schouten, an investigative journalist with the Dutch newspaper NRC.
Educational sessions with leading regulatory experts, health authorities and notified bodies
Euro Convergence 2023 featured more than 40 educational sessions with leading regulatory experts from around the world. Among the presenters were more than 30 representing health authorities or notified bodies from a diverse cross-section of organisations throughout Europe. Educational sessions covered a range of topics including MDR and IVDR transition and implementation, the EU CTR, interactions with health authorities and notified bodies, artificial intelligence and more.
Topic-specific tracks in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, IVDR and regulatory business enabled delegates to get in-depth learning. A "Conversations that Matter: Interactions with Health Authorities" session gave delegates an opportunity to ask direct questions to health authority and notified body representatives in an interactive discussion format.
The chance to reconnect with global regulatory colleagues
At RAPS' largest-ever event in Europe, professionals had the opportunity to hear about vital regulatory updates and explore dynamic collaboration opportunities and essential professional development. In addition, the sold-out tabletop exhibits at RAPS Euro Convergence allowed delegates to meet with new business partners and discuss the latest innovations from across the industry.
"At the end of the day, nothing beats an event like this," said conference committee co-chair Alex Laan, head of IVD notified body at BSI Group. "Delegates learn so much from each other and have so many valuable experiences in between and after the presentations, which is something you can really only do if you engage one another face-to-face."
Chapter and local networking groupmeet and greets enabled delegates to reconnect with old colleagues and build new connections for future collaboration. Nine local RAPS communities came together for in-person meetups, including RAPS' recently-launched local networking groups in Spain and Portugal.
A robust agenda that went much further than educational sessions
The conference programme also included preconference workshops, poster presentations, sponsored sessions and networking events, including a networking dinner at the historic Kanarie Club. Delegates voted "Developing Guidelines for Medical 3D Printing in Various Scenarios: A Challenging Task?" by Nivedha Subramanian as the best poster.
"It is fantastic to see how much RAPS Euro Convergence has grown in our second year back in-person," said RAPS Executive Director Bill McMoil. "RAPS is focused on listening to and creatively serving the European regulatory affairs community and, as a result, I expect RAPS Euro Convergence to continue its phenomenal growth in the years to come."
After two years in Amsterdam, RAPS Euro Convergence is expanding to a larger venue and heading to the Berlin Congress Center on 6-8 May in 2024. Sign up here to stay informed.
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- RAPS Euro Convergence plenary speakers (https://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/2dd7d0c3-4eff-4fb9-ac2f-0ac6883626d9)
