Quality of Medicines at the Heart of Health Systems
About this event
The University of Oxford has a long-standing tradition of organising informal gatherings of researchers and experts working on the quality of medical products. This initiative was launched by Professor Paul Newton, who leads the IDDO Medicines Quality Research Group.
These informal meetings are intended to encourage knowledge exchange, areas of research on medicine quality, strengthen professional networks, and provide a space for both early-career and established experts to discuss their work.
For the first time, the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp will host this event, in close collaboration with the IDDO Oxford group. The gathering will be organized by the Pharmaceutical Public Health Unit of the ITM.
Practical information
Date: 8 October 2026
Time: 9:00-18:00 (CEST)
Location: Campus Rochus (ITM), Sint-Rochusstraat 43, 2000 Antwerp
Registration: Contact rravinetto@itg.be
Preliminary programme
Timing | Activity | Location | |
9:00-10:45 | Arrival, coffee and informal networking | Karibu | |
11:00-13:00 | First scientific session | Aula Janssens | |
Welcome
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Short presentations - part 1 (chair: Belen Tarrafeta) | |||
Celine Vanhee, Department Medicines and Health Products, Official Medicines Control Laboratory, Sciensiano: “Falsified Medicines Seized in Belgium: Uncovering Severe Quality Defects in PDE-5 Inhibitors, Ivermectin, and Antibiotics” | |||
Marteen Kok, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: “Price Doesn’t Lie (Or Does It?): A Journey from Risk Modeling to Reviewing What We Know” | |||
Kerlijn Van Assche, Oxford University: “Medicine Quality Monitoring Globe: online news to monitor poor-quality medical products” | |||
Stefanie Dobitz, Lead INSPIRE LAB, Diabetes Center Berne (DCB): "Ensuring the Quality of Biologics at the Point of Care: Lessons from Insulin Therapy" | |||
Ariadna Nebot Giralt, CEPED associate researcher: "Pharmacists at the fore: the role of pharmacists at international health organisations to improve access to quality medicines interventions" | |||
Pierre-Yves Sacré, Cetre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Médicament (CIRM), University of Liege: “Towards a global spectroscopic platform for medicine quality screening: the NIR4MED project” | |||
Group photo | |||
13:00-14:00 | Sandwich break | Karibu | |
14:00-17:00 | Second scientific sessions | Aula Janssens | |
14:00-15:45 | Short presentations - part 2 (chair: Belen Tarrafeta) | ||
Jason Bower, Relief International: "Relief International’s innovative Local Medical Supplier Development Project: An Update" | |||
Amandine Oleffe, Université libre de Bruxelles: "Medicine retailers and (perceived) quality in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo" | |||
Hans Hogerzeil, co-chair, Lancet Commission on Accelerating Progress on Essential Medicines: “Quality concerns across 42 National Medicine Policies developed since 2015” | |||
15:45-16:45 | Quality of Medicines and the Lancet Commission – a short consultation (chairs: Hans Hogerzeil and Saleh Aljadeeah) | ||
Short update on the work of the Lancet commission & summary of thinking with regard to quality assurance | |||
Short consultation on behalf of the Lancet Commission: 1) What are the key problems in QA that you are facing now, with focus on new/important problems emerging in the last decade? and (2) do you know of any very good solutions used in any country or institution, that the Lancet Commission should know of and that we could use as a case study for the Lancet Commission report? | |||
16:45-17:00 | Everybody has the right to medicines they can trust: lessons learned and ways forward – the way forward (Celine Caillet, Pernette Bourdillon and Raffaella Ravinetto) | ||
17:00 | Closing remarks | Aula Janssens |
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