Invitation from Carina Schey, Researcher at University of Groningen and Chair of This Year’s Orphan Drugs & Rare Diseases Conference

London, United Kingdom, September 08, 2018 --(PR.com)-- SMi’s Orphan Drugs & Rare Diseases Conference is set to take place this year in London, UK on the 17th and 18th October. The two-day conference is in its 8th year and will be providing delegates with the unrivalled opportunity of hearing from internationally renowned expert speakers, providing their thoughts and experiences in the field of rare diseases.

This year’s Chair has been announced as Carina Schey, Researcher at University of Groningen, who will be opening and closing the conference, and speaking on day one. Carina is a consultant health economist currently pursuing research in the PharmacoEconomics and PharmacoEpidemiology Unit in the University of Groningen. The primary focus of her research is developing ways of demonstrating the true value of orphan drugs as alternative options to standard cost-effectiveness studies.

Carina was a clinical pharmacist with a special interest in rare diseases, having worked at several leading London hospitals. Between 2002 and 2008, Carina designed and implemented patient-focused homecare services on behalf of the UK NHS to patients with rare diseases.

Carina has also published several peer-reviewed articles and abstracts. Notable speaking engagements include the European Parliament “Patients’ Rights Day” and “The Chronic Diseases” conference, both in 2015, and several other rare diseases conferences. Carina sits on the expert judges’ panel for the MassChallenge and on the scientific advisory panels for several charities, and as non-executive director for healthcare organisations.

Snapshot of Chair’s Letter of Invitation:

“This year’s SMi Orphan Drugs and Rare Diseases Conference will bring together regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organisations and orphan drugs developers to offer an agenda that addresses the driving economic factors, policies and issues that will affect the development of orphan drugs globally, including commercialisation, policies, reimbursement, and pricing.

"Conference highlights include presentations, panel debates and interactive presentations, specifically designed to illuminate current challenges we are all facing. These include: how to address emerging, new regulatory requirements; how to improve data management and communications with the public; and how to improve patient engagement by integrating the patient perspective into the drug development process through patient advocacy, patient-centric research and patient groups.

"In addition, this conference is another excellent opportunity to meet and network with experts and colleagues from around the world and to build the personal relationships and connections that are so essential to moving the science, techniques and technology surrounding unmet medical needs forward."

The full letter of invitation is now available on the event website, where the latest brochure, speaker-line up and other exclusive content is available to download. Register your place for the conference and accompanying workshop taking place on the 16th October at: http://www.orphandrugs.co.uk/prcom

About SMi Group: Established since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the world’s most forward-thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. More information can be found at http://www.smi-online.co.uk