The first face-to-face meeting of the Global Oncology Partnership Panel (GOPP) was held from 26–28 March 2025 in Frankfurt and Ingelheim, Germany. Hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim, the event gathered patient group representatives and advocacy leaders to discuss patient engagement in oncology clinical trials.

Participants attended workshops on two topics: Screening and Early Diagnosis, aimed at improving cancer detection, particularly for patients who cannot access standard screening methods; and Biomarker Testing, focused on increasing awareness and timely patient access to treatments.

Afternoon sessions featured presentations from Boehringer Ingelheim’s clinical trial team. Marco Hofmann explained drug development and preclinical research processes, Claas Frohn discussed early clinical trials, and Bert Santy shared patient engagement practices in clinical operations.

The second day included discussions on Clinical Outcome Assessments (COAs), Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs), and patient preference studies, led by Maarten Voorhaar and Dr Heiko Zettl. Barry Stein from Colorectal Cancer Canada co-hosted a roundtable on the role of patient-generated evidence in cancer research and care.

Patient advocates from Canada, the USA, Japan, Belgium, and other countries exchanged ideas with Boehringer Ingelheim’s team. They identified steps to enhance patient involvement throughout the clinical trial stages.

The GOPP meeting demonstrated global collaboration, focusing on improving cancer care and patient engagement as key aspects of oncology innovation.

Author:

Nikola Mihinjač