On 17th-18th October 2024, the REMEDi4ALL consortium convened for the 3rd General Assembly Meeting (GAM). As month 24 of the project approaches, we dedicated two days to reflect on our achievements over the past year, discuss our future plans, and strategise about how to address upcoming challenges. The GAM provided a fantastic opportunity to showcase the work of the REMEDi4ALL community, with a positive atmosphere that mirrored the consortium’s energy.
Community Gathering
Following an introduction from host Syreon Research Institute and EATRIS CEO Anton Ussi. Don Lo (EATRIS Director of Medicines Development), kicked off the GAM by celebrating our successes and outlining a pathway for the future of the project hallmarked by patient benefit, rigorous project management, following critical paths and decision-making, open sharing of findings and broad community dissemination.
Reflecting on our successes
Following our opening session, Work Packages (WPs) 1 and 3 led discussions on Patient Engagement. Discussions including contributions from Beacon, Syreon Research Institute, and EURORDIS emphasised the importance of patient engagement across the drug repurposing spectrum and key training activities were highlighted, including the launch of the Virtual Academy in early 2025 and the Drug Repurposing Bootcamp in June 2025.
Next, technical work package leaders provided updates from REMEDi4ALL’s Demonstrator Projects and introduced new tools designed to help technical REMEDi4ALL partner find innovative drug repurposing solutions relevant to their research area. Day 1 was rounded off by a special session on REPURPOLIS– the drug repurposing game by Rosan Kreeftmeijer-Vegter, at EATRIS. REPURPOLIS is an engaging, educational board game that illustrates the different elements of the Drug Repurposing pathway. After an inspiring first day, the consortium enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Danube thanks to our excellent hosts Syreon Research Institute, who showcased the beautiful city of Budapest.
Looking forward
Day 2 looked to the future of REMEDi4ALL, featuring energising discussions about project next steps including Opening the REMEDi4ALL shop and our ambitious plans for development of a platform for drug repurposing as demonstrated by “mini-projects” in progress currently and important project prioritisation measures that are being refined. Funding is a crucial element for the sustainability of the REMEDi4ALL project beyond its lifetime. We were pleased to hear from ZonMw, lead of the Funder’s Network, about funding opportunities and the future REMEDi4ALL Marketplace.
With ambitious plans come challenges, particularly policy barriers. To combat these, a productive policy workshop was held, where we had insightful discussions on addressing key policy barriers related to REMEDi4ALL.
Day 2 was concluded with a session from our communications team on how to most effectively disseminate project results to different audiences, especially as we see more project results in the very near future.
Overall, GAM #3 was a great success, with invigorating discussions, solidified plans for the project’s next steps, and a focus on the sustainability of REMEDi4ALL beyond its lifetime. Members left the meeting energised and ready to continue working towards fulfilling REMEDi4ALL’s vision to drive forward the repurposing of medicines in Europe.
