IPFA/PEI 29th International Workshop on Surveillance and Screening of Blood-borne Pathogens

Following the success of this year’s meeting in Porto and the excellent feedback received from attendees; IPFA and PEI are happy to announce that the:

29th International Workshop on Surveillance and Screening of Blood-borne Pathogens

will take place 10-11 May, 2023 in Bologna, Italy

Once again and by popular demand the 29th Workshop will be a fully onsite event, taking place in the historic heart of the beautiful city of Bologna, Italy. The Centro Nazionale Sangue from Italy will act as the local host, supporting the workshop.

The Scientific Programme Committee has developed an exciting programme with the following topics included:

Emerging arboviruses
Pathogen inactivation
Fractionators/PDMP
Initiatives in developing countries
Breaking news and updates
Focus on “Big Data”
Developments from supporting industries

The programme will be constantly updated, so keep an eye on our website.

We warmly invite you to attend this meeting and look forward to welcoming you to this important event.

Leni von Bonsdorff, Executive Director IPFA
Micha Nübling, PEI

Programme

Wednesday 10 May

09:00 - 10:10 Session 1

Welcome and Introduction, followed by a keynote lecture

09:00 - 09:10 Welcome and introduction - IPFA & PEI
09:10 - 09:30 Organisation of Blood Services and PDMP Supply in Italy - Vincenzo De Angelis, Centro Nazionale Sangue, Italy
09:30 - 10:10 Hepatitis C: End of the Beginning and Possibly the Beginning of the End - Harvey J. Alter, MD, MACP - NIH Clinical Center, United States

10:10 - 10:30

Coffee Break

10:30 - 12:00 Session 2

Advancing Arboviruses

10:30 - 10:50 Transfusion transmission of non-West Nile Virus arboviruses - José-Manuel Ramos-Rincón, UMH, Spain
10:50 - 11:10 Monitoring of WNV in Vectors - Reina Sikkema, ErasmusMC University Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
11:10 - 11:30 WNV in Donors, the Italian Experience - Flavia Riccardo, ISS, Italy
11:30 - 11:50 Autochthonous Cases of Dengue in Metropolitan France: Risk Mitigation in France and Beyond - Pierre Gallian, EFS, France
11:50 - 12:05 - Q&A

12:05 - 12:30 Session 3

IPFA Award

12:05 - 12:15 - Introduction of the IPFA Award Winner and Presentation of the Award
12:15 - 12:30 - Presentation by the Award winner

12:30 - 14:00

Lunch Break

14:00 - 15:30 Session 4

Pathogen Reduction/Inactivation of Blood Components – Strengths and Weaknesses

14:00 - 14:20 Pathogen Reduction vs Testing - Marion Lanteri, UCSF, Unites States
14:20 - 14:40 Pathogen-Reduced Platelets for the Prevention of Bleeding. Cochrane Systematic Review, 2022 - Lise Estcourt, NHSBT, United Kingdom
14:40 - 15:00 Pathogen Reduction of Red Cells - Aaron Tobian, John Hopkins University, United States
15:00 - 15:20 Regulators Perspective - Nicole Verdun, FDA, United States
15:20 - 15:30 - Q&A

15:30 - 16:00

Coffee Break

16:00 - 17:20 Session 5

Pathogen Risks/Inactivation in PDMPs – Fractionators Perspective

16:00 - 16:20 Viral Safety Concepts for Gene and Cell Therapy Learned from Plasma-derived Products and Biotechnology - Johannes Blümel, Paul Ehrlich Institute, Germany
16:20 - 16:40 Safety and Global Availability of Plasma-derived Medicinal Product - Thierry Burnouf, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan
16:40 - 17:00 Emerging Pathogens: Safety of Plasma Protein Products and Protection by Immunoglobulins in an Increasingly Global Plasma Supply - Thomas R. Kreil, Head of Global Pathogen Safety, Takeda

18:30 - 22:30

Workshop Dinner

Join us for a guided tour at Archiginnasio Palace, the first permanent seat of the Bologna University. After the tour you can enjoy a 3-course seated dinner in a historical building, located in the centre of Bologna. Tickets (75 Euros) can be purchased during the registration process.

Thursday 11 May

09:00 - 10:20 Session 6

Manufacturers Session – Presentations from Supporting Industries

09:00 - 09:20 - Roche
09:20 - 09:40 - Abbott
09:40 - 10:00 Asahi Kasei - Contribution to the Global Virus Safety Against Emerging Viruses, Elke Kederer, Head of Product Management, Central & East Europe, Asahi Kasei Bioprocess Europe S.A./N.V
10:00 - 10:20 - Grifols

10:20 - 10:40

Coffee Break

10:40 - 12:30 Session 7

Focus on Africa and Low and Medium Income countries (LMIC)

10:40 - 11:00 Malaria Testing by PCR - Luiz Amorim, Brazil
11:00 - 11:20 Screening for Malaria by PCR - Alex Owusu-Ofori, Ghana
11:20 - 11:40 African Experience in obtaining Quality Plasma for PDMP - Israel Chipare, Namibia
11:40 - 12:00 Update from the ISBT Working Party for Global Blood Safety - Jay Epstein, United States
12:00 - 12:30 - Q&A

12:30 - 14:00

Lunch Break

14:00 - 15:15 Session 8

Update Session

14:00 - 14:20 ECDC’s Plan for ensuring Microbiological Safety of SoHO within its new Mandate - Vanja Nicolac Markic, ECDC
14:20 - 14:40 Year Survey of NAT Testing - Carla Osiowy, PHAC/ASPC, Canada
14:40 - 15:00 Impact of PrEP on HIV Detection - Brian Custer, Vitalant, United States
15:00 - 15:15 Q&A

15:15 - 15:30

Short Break

15:30 - 17:00 Session 9

Big Data is coming for you!

15:30 - 15:50 SCANDAT Analysis of Amyloid Plaque Transmission by Transfusion - Gustaf Edgren, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
15:50 - 16:10 Big Data Donor Research - Emanuele Di Angelantonio, United Kingdom
16:10 - 16:30 Speaker and title to be confirmed
16:30 - 17:00 Q&A

Registration

The registration fee includes full attendance to the Workshop, coffee breaks and lunch on both days and access to the on-line proceedings after the event.
Participants from low-income economies or lower-middle-income economies can benefit from a discounted registration fee. You can find the list of eligible countries on the website of the World Bank here

Hotel accommodation
We have reserved room blocks at different hotels in the centre of Bologna. All hotels are conveniently located and walking distance from the Workshop venue, in the heart of the historic part of Bologna.

Kindly note the prices shown on the booking website are for a full stay of 3 nights. The price per night is shown on the table here. You can of course modify your stay during the booking process.

The speaker hotel will be NH Bologna de la gare, for which we were unable to secure more rooms to book for delegates. You are of course free to book your hotel accommodation via other platforms.

Registration Fees	Early fee Until 10 February	Regular fee 11 February – 25 April	Late fee 26 April – 11 May
IPFA Member	€ 545	€ 595	€ 645
Non-members	€ 845	€ 895	€ 945
Low/Lower-Middle Income Countries	€ 135	€ 185	€ 235
Workshop Dinner 10 May	€ 75	€ 75	€ 75

All deadlines mentioned end at 23:59 hours, CET. Please click here to read our Terms & Conditions.

Hotel	Price per night (incl breakfast)	Distance to Palazzo Re Enzo
Hotel Internazionale	184€	10 min walking – 6 min with public transports
Royal Hotel Carlton	184€	14 min walking – 12 min with public transports
Starhotel Excelsior Bologna	190€	19 min walking – 14 min with public transports
I Portici Hotel Bologna	260€	11 min walking – 6 min with public transports

Corporate Partners

As a corporate sponsor, you can be assured that our fully on-site event offers excellent networking opportunities with recognised international experts. We expect about 200 delegates from the European and international scientific community, blood transfusion services, regulatory agencies, plasma fractionators and manufacturers and distributors of plasmapheresis related devices.

The structure of the meeting will allow time for discussion and interaction with all interested participants, including your own experts, should they wish to attend. The meeting will take place at Palazzo Re Enzo, facilitating dialogues with guest speakers and other delegates both in the meeting forum and during breaks and social events.

There are a number of sponsorship categories, to profile and represent your company. We hope that you will consider these options and inform us on your intention. Should you have any questions regarding these arrangements, or any other suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us at Workshop@ipfa-events.nl

Thank you to our sponsors:

Contact

The Workshop will be hosted at the Palazzo Re Enzo, Bologna, Italy. Located just a stone’s throw away from Piazza Maggiore, Palazzo Re Enzo combines the charm of a historic residence with the versatility of a state-of-the-art facility.

Palazzo Re Enzo
Piazza del Nettuno, 1
Bologna – Italia

Please find here more information how to get to the Workshop venue.

Fore more information on the Workshop, please send an email to: Workshop@ipfa-events.nl

COVID Regulations in Bologna

A Green Pass or equivalent certificate is no longer needed to enter Italy. Also the use of masks is no longer mandatory, but still highly recommend.

For the latest information on COVID-19 travel restrictions in Italy, please visit the official tourism website.