Shaping the respiratory health research agenda together
Lovexair Foundation convenes leaders in respiratory health management and care from Ibero-American countries to redefine the map of R&D priorities at the 5th Ibero-American Summit of the Respiratory Community.
Health research is one of the fundamental components to have an efficient and quality health system. Furthermore, in recent years, with the rapid increase in access to scientific knowledge, it is also expected that this knowledge will be applied and translated into better health for the population.
“Today, society expects decisions to be based on the best available knowledge, but research initiatives are still not adequately organized or managed. As a result, much of the research being done is wasted or has limited value. Research sponsors do not see that their investment has an impact on development, and it is possible that they do not even see any type of effect on prevention initiatives or health policies,” argue experts from the Pan American Health Organization in the article "The evolution of health research will redefine national health agendas".
“How should we configure research teams in an interconnected world and how do we take advantage of every opportunity that may arise?” Pan American Health Organization [I].
[I] https://iris.paho.org/bitstream/handle/10665.2/51080/v43eBMJ12019_spa.pdf?sequence=8
Research in respiratory health
Respiratory diseases create an immense health burden worldwide. According to data from the World Health Organization, it is estimated that 235 million people suffer from asthma, more than 200 million people suffer from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), between 1 and 6% of the adult population (more than 100 million people) suffer breathing disorders during sleep, 8.7 million people suffer from tuberculosis (TB) annually, millions live with Pulmonary Hypertension and more than 50 million people fight occupational lung diseases, reaching a total of more than one billion people suffering from chronic respiratory diseases[I].
Furthermore, pneumonia is the single largest cause of childhood mortality from infection worldwide. Almost 2.000 children die every day from pneumonia: one boy or girl every 45 seconds, which means almost 700.000 deaths a year. The vast majority of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and almost all are preventable.[ii]
"Respiratory diseases not only represent a burden on society in terms of mortality, but also affect the direct costs of primary care, hospital care and treatments and the indirect costs related to loss of productivity." Network Biomedical Research Center
Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES)[iii]
In addition, the socioeconomic repercussion of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with its consequences, such as the group suffering from the post-COVID condition (also known as Long Covid or persistent Covid), adds to this situation.
In this context and given the alarming figures, it is evident that there is a need to allocate resources to research to understand the causes of these diseases and to be able to develop prevention strategies, as well as treatments for control and cure.
The ERS (European Respiratory Society) developed a road map of respiratory diseases in Europe, in order to offer a set of recommendations and action plans, which included the research as a strategic pillar, along with prevention, clinical medicine, and education[iv].
In this document, he highlighted the importance of addressing several aspects, including:
- Need to find new and effective forms of collaboration between academic research and innovation, in order to develop better medicines and improve diagnostic methods.
- Improving the interaction between innovative academic centers and the pharmaceutical industry is essential for the development of new medicines.
- Improving research through innovative technologies.
- Need to analyze lifestyle and its impact on lung health
- Conduct studies on the aging pathways that many of the comorbidities of COPD have in common, such as cardiovascular disease, bone disease or diabetes.
- Involve the patient in research, and the use of new technologies for patient empowerment and self-management of their disease.
- Need for sustained financing mechanisms
Likewise, the evolution of science offers us new opportunities and challenges to advance in the development of more effective therapies focused on each patient. For example, the detection of specific biomarkers to improve the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases, the development of new therapies to regenerate lung tissue, the correct identification of the different phenotypes of the disease (such as asthma) to apply therapies adequate and personalized, among other aspects that are opening up in the fields of genetics, biomedicine and biotechnology.
Leading the future of lung health research
In this context, the Lovexair Foundation, an organization dedicated to designing support programs for people with respiratory problems and developing resources to support healthcare professionals, promotes research as a central aspect to improve the health and quality of life of respiratory patients.
For this reason, and in order to unite the main actors of the system, it organizes the 5th Ibero-American Summit of the Respiratory Community: The future of lung health research, on December 5 and 6, 2023.
This free online event will bring together leading patients, caregivers, academics, researchers, healthcare professionals, and industry representatives internationally. More than 30 speakers will join us at this meeting to address the challenges of building quality care models, based on data and scientific information.
“At Lovexair we analyze the current challenges facing research and the significant absence of investment for respiratory diseases vs. other pathologies. In a world that is increasingly exposed and vulnerable to climate change and infectious diseases, the number of people affected by respiratory conditions is increasing, while we are facing increased costs in the development of innovative medicines or therapeutic lines and less human resources to provide healthcare in chronic diseases.”
Shane Fitch, president of Lovexair Foundation.
La 5th Ibero-American Summit of the Respiratory Community It is a free and open event, and consists of 8 sessions in which the challenges and opportunities of research will be addressed from different perspectives: healthcare, academic-scientific, industry and from the perspective of patients and families.
Likewise, there will be an interactive workshop open to all participants to jointly define a new map of priorities and needs of the respiratory community in Latin America.
These meetings will take place in Spanish y Portuguese.
To register and/or consult the program, go here: https://www.lovexair.com/cumbre-2023/
About the Lovexair Foundation
Lovexair is a non-profit organization, based in Spain and international reach, whose mission is to accompany and improve the quality of life of people affected by respiratory diseases and support health professionals, within their systems, who assist them. in their care, treatment.
Lovexair has developed HappyAir, an ecosystem with the online and offline resources necessary to train, educate, monitor and carry out R&D for people affected by chronic or rare respiratory diseases in comprehensive care plans, creating a network of therapeutic educators. or coach to accompany and empower people in self-care and prevention, together with the supervision and advice of health professionals and experts. We are members of EHTEL with the HappyAir ecosystem – recognized by Digital Health Uptake EU – FEP, ELF (PAC Patient Advisory Committee) and active in multiple global forums focused on respiratory patient advocacy and digital health.
[I] https://www.thoracic.org/about/global-public-health/firs/resources/FIRS-in-Spanish.pdf
[ii] https://www.isglobal.org/documents/10179/12351497/PB_Unicef_ISGlobal/1da9731c-6f3d-4347-b8d2-f7b42249c22e
[iii] https://www.ciberisciii.es/media/919329/pe-ciberes-1.pdf
[iv] https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/3/502
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