In the midst of RExPO24, we managed to catch up with conference co-chairs Harald Schmidt (REPO4EU Project Coordinator) and Jennifer Martin (Chair of Clinical Pharmacology at University of Newcastle).
During our conversation with them, we found out more about their decision to join forces for this year’s conference, how their collaboration is helping to build bridges between Europe and Australasia, and how the RExPO series is positively contributing to the drug repurposing community worldwide.
Hi Harald and Jennifer! Congratulations on the success of RExPO24. Tell us, what made you decide to join forces this year?
Harald: I contacted Jennifer because bringing repurposed drugs to patients isn’t something you can just do in Europe, it has to be commercially viable worldwide. Not many countries are heavily exploring drug repurposing like Australia is, and Jennifer’s experience with that has been particularly intense and relevant. So, we connected and decided to put our experiences in common, which led us to hosting this year’s conference together with one goal in mind: to continue driving innovation in medicine and health science.
Jennifer: Yes, that’s right! When Harald contacted us about this meeting, we were thrilled. Often, we feel like the “little brother down under,” and having the big voice of Europe working with us gives the whole drug repurposing mission some gravitas. It shows that this is a safe and innovative approach, and like Harald said, one that would struggle to go ahead unless we work closely together across multiple countries and disciplines.
What are the potential benefits of this European-Australasian collaboration?
Harald: As part of REPO4EU, one of our objectives is to grow a global network of specialists that champion mechanism-based approaches for drug repurposing. We’re bringing together researchers, clinicians, startups, patient groups and policymakers from all over the world, and working closely with Jennifer and her team in Australia directly contributes to this mission. It’s very crucial for us to engage in the political side as well, because drug repurposing decisions are made country by country, so we cannot be working in isolation; drug repurposing has the capacity to bring amazing opportunities for patients, so we need to continue working hand-in-hand to push for changes in how these decisions are made.
Jennifer: Absolutely! We’ve had this need in Australia and New Zealand for a few years, and our team has become quite impatient with how long it’s taking to get a proper pathway. We have clinical groups and researchers doing great work, but we can’t use it in a clinical setting because treatments need to be tested for safety, quality and efficacy. They also need public subsidies because people can’t afford them otherwise. So, we’ve spent a lot of energy advocating for this and showing our regulators that we can produce safe outcomes for patients with these treatments. Joining a big initiative like RExPO offers us opportunities for collaboration and relationship building between scientists and clinicians in both regions, so we can hopefully move things forward faster — but always with the patients’ safety and wellbeing at the center.
This is the third edition of the conference. What are the key aspects that have stood out for you, compared to previous years?
Harald: I remember the first year, when we hosted it in Maastricht, the big majority of the speakers were members of the REPO4EU consortium. For the second edition, which was celebrated in Stockholm, we started seeing more people approaching us to speak at the conference. This time in Munich, I would say about 80% of speakers are from the outside, which shows me that the idea is catching on and gaining validation within the drug repurposing community.
Jennifer: One of the good things about this conference is the diversity of skills demonstrated throughout the program. For example, this year we’ve seen even more interesting adaptive design trials and AI tools that could help us study drugs more efficiently. This kind of innovation helps overcome barriers, like the high cost of including thousands of patients in trials. Listening to all the talks has been very inspiring, and this exchange of knowledge will help to empower other researchers to improve their own processes.
Harald: Another main point is that we keep seeing more and more success stories, where clinicians and companies are achieving tangible results and bringing new benefits for patients. We’ve also made a conscious decision to engage more actively with patient organizations, particularly those for rare diseases, and being able to dedicate a whole session of the conference to this area has been very rewarding.
Jennifer: Yes, the engagement from consumer groups, pharmaceutical industry, and young researchers has also been incredible this year. It’s exciting to see the future of drug research being shaped by these enthusiastic and innovative minds.
One of the big highlights of this year’s conference was the launch of the Drug Repurposing Journal, in collaboration with ScienceOpen. What can you tell us about this milestone?
Harald: It’s been really wonderful getting to work with Stephanie Dawson and the ScienceOpen team on this, and we were very excited to announce the first issue in front of all the RExPO24 attendees. The Drug Repurposing Journal is diamond open access, which means no one has to pay to read it or to publish their research in it. It still goes through a thorough editorial and peer-reviewing process, but making it fully accessible to researchers working in drug repurposing from all over the world. I think this transparency that we’re bringing to the scientific publishing community is very refreshing.
Jennifer: I read the first edition of the journal and it’s fantastic! It includes interactive discussions and, because it’s open access, it allows for real dialogue about current research being conducted in our field. This journal marks a return to the roots of scientific research where ideas are openly discussed and debated, which helps to ensure our research is directed towards real-world benefits.
RExPO24, the 3rd edition of our international series of conferences dedicated to Systems Medicine, Artificial Intelligence and Drug Repurposing, took place in Munich on 3-5 July 2024. Visit the conference highlights page!