As mentioned in our previous article, on November 4th to the 6th, MEDSIR hosted, with the sponsorship of PFIZER, a Think Tank Meeting on Emerging Markets in Breast Cancer in Barcelona. This 3-day event brought together 5 Key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the breast cancer field with 23 breast cancer oncologists from emerging markets in LATAM, Asia and AfME to generate innovative and strategic proposals in breast cancer.
Hear what our attendees and mentors had to say about the event!
Mentors
MEDSIR’s co-founders, Dr. Javier Cortés, Director of the International Breast Cancer Center (IBCC) and President of Fundación Contigo, and Dr. Antonio Llombart, Head of the Medical Oncology Service at Arnau de Vilanova Hospital in Valencia, were two of the mentors for the Pfizer Emerging Markets Think Tank. They thought that with friendly microenvironment of the event, it was a great way encourage people to “think out of the box” to answer clinical questions faster and better. Dr. Llombart emphasized the high value of worldwide oncologists and the importance to develop new ideas, whereas Dr. Cortés stressed the importance of developing research through networks and Think Tank Meetings to provide new medicine for patients to live better and longer lives. What amazing mentors to have at this event!
Another one of our great mentors was Dr. José Pérez, the Medical Director at the International Breast Cancer Center (IBCC) and Medical Expert at MEDSIR. He wants to encourage oncologists to take part in these types of events, because the best ideas don’t always have to come from the KOLs but can come from any young oncologist and Think Tanks can be a great resource for them to fully develop their idea.
Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli, Professor of Medicine & Director of Breast Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine, traveled to Barcelona to serve as one of our international mentors and described this experience as an engagement and idea-sharing event. He also advised oncologists initiating to clinical research to not be discouraged, and shared tips on how the field of clinical trials work. It was great to have such a fantastic mentor participate in this Think Tank!
We were also lucky to have the participation of Dr. Richard Finn, professor of Medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Director of the Translational Research Laboratory in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, as one of our wonderful mentors of the event. For him, the meeting was an important place to interact with physicians from around the world and explore their ideas. He reminds us that what can start as an Investigator-Initiated Trial can change practice around the world, so hard-work and dedication are key.
Attendees
Dr. Pei-Wei Huang and Dr. Nur Fadhlina, Medical Oncologists from Taiwan and Malaysia respectively, described as a safe and comfortable environment where emerging markets could be heard and helped by KOLs to shape their ideas.
Dr. Tomas Reinert and Dr. Gustavo Werutsky, Medical Oncologists from Brazil, highlighted the importance of this event for investigators that wanted to initiate more innovative clinical trial research. They also defined the event as an excellent opportunity to interact with oncologists from around the world and learn from them.
Dr. Alejandro Kuzminin and Dr. Cynthia Villareal, Medical Oncologists from Argentina and Mexico respectively, felt that the Think Tank Meeting was a dynamic experience that allowed them to generate new proposals and a way of thinking that they will definitely bring back to their regions.
Dr. George El Hachem, Medical Oncologist from Lebanon, highlighted how this event contributed to the generation of interactive discussions among the different countries, and it also generated ideas to serve their population, many with unmet needs.
Dr. Fong Chin Heng, Medical Oncologist from Malaysia explained how this meeting allowed the attendees to build connections with leaders in the field and colleagues from around the world that will go on even after they return to their respective countries. They’ll be able bring these ideas back home and apply them.
We were pleased with the positive feedback from both mentors and attendees and are excited to continue to host future Think Tanks to foster global collaborate and innovation. If you would like to take part of this event or sponsor one, don’t hesitate to contact us! Our mission is to improve clinical research, and to do that, interacting with mentors and different people from around the world who share the same interest and objectives is a must!
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