Record attendance at the Sixth WFH Global Forum on the Safety and Supply of Treatment Products for Bleeding Disorders
By Mark Brooker
WFH Senior Public Policy Officer
Hemophilia World, December 2009
 The WFH hosted its Sixth Global Forum on the Safety and Supply of Treatment Products for Bleeding Disorders for participants from 35 countries in Montreal, Canada, at the end of September. The 175 representatives of patient groups, regulators, commercial and not-for-profit fractionators, as well as doctors who treat people with bleeding disorders, was the biggest ever for a WFH Global Forum.
Along with the usual issues of safety and supply, including inhibitors and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, use of factor around the world, and the prospects for future increases in supply, participants discussed several important new issues.
Among these new topics:
- the impending US legislation on “biosimilars” or “follow-on biologics” which are sometimes referred to as generic biologics, in a debate chaired by WFH president Mark Skinner. Although some manufacturers raised concerns about the safety of biosimilars, patient groups tended to see their potential in the area of rare diseases.
- the concepts of Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) and Comparative Effective Research (CER), in a session titled “Economics and outcome assessments—threats to care in a tightening economy?” led by former WFH president Brian O’Mahony. The speakers explained the concepts and gave practical examples of how HTAs are already being used to observe hemophilia treatment and treatment products. As methods of evaluating current healthcare practices and treatment products become more popular among governments, the bleeding disorders community must be aware and prepared.
The proceedings of the Forum are now available. Included in the proceedings are the voting results from the participants, which measured the opinions on issues important to our community. Global Forum Proceedings (PDF)
To view the presentations from this year's Forum, please
click here.
Global Forum Final Program (PDF)
The WFH is grateful for the support for the Global Forum provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada, le ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Gouvernement du Québec, le ministère des Relations internationales du Gouvernement du Québec, Hema-Québec, and the Canadian Blood Services.
WFH Global Forum 2007
WFH Global Forum 2005
The proceedings of the WFH's global forum 2003 (PDF)
The proceedings of the WFH's global forum 2002 (PDF)
Last Updated October 2010
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