Let's welcome! Bulgarian Association for Personalized Medicine (BAPEMED)

The Bulgarian Association for Personalized Medicine (BAPEMED) was established in 2014 as the first non-governmental organization of its kind in Eastern Europe. BAPEMED is a non-profit Association that unites scientific and academic community, patients and patients’ organizations, diagnostic and healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, service entities and commercial structures.

BAPEMED’s efforts are focused on:

1) promotion and raising awareness regarding all aspects of personalized medicine,

2) establishment of suitable environment for its application and

3) identification of sustainable tailor-made solutions, because “Each patient matters!”

The Association is part of the European and worldwide initiative to affirm the contribution of personalized medicine to modern healthcare and it is actively involved in the transition from traditional medical practices to a personalized treatment approach.

BAPEMED founders are leading structures and well-known specialists from healthcare and diagnostic sector – National Patients’ Organization (NPO), “Acibadem City Clinic Tokuda Hospital”, “ProDuCt – Project Development Consulting”, Prof. Alexei Savov (Head of the National Genetic Laboratory, Sofia) and Prof. Radka Kaneva (Executive Manager of Molecular Medicine Center, Medical Universty of Sofia).

Working actively, gaining a broader perspective and taking into account the viewpoints of the main figures in the field of healthcare and personaliaed medicine in particular, BAPEMED sets itself the following ambitious, but achievable goals:

• Promoting the concept of personalized medicine among medical professionals, healthcare organizations, institutions and patient communities;
• Popularization of personalized medicine contribution to modern healthcare and its public significance for the healthcare system
• Endorsing the need for real-world data (RWD) collection and analyses
• Ensuring rapid and easy access for patients to innovations in diagnostics and therapy in the field of personalized medicine following the patient-centric approach
• Emphasising the need to improve prevention and early diagnosis of a number of socially significant diseases.

Our activities are focused and performed in the scope of three main pillars:

1. BAPEMED Personalized Medicine Education
2. BAPEMED Patient Advocacy/ Patient-centric approach
3. BAPEMED Digital Health

BAPEMED’s contribution includes:

• Promoting the benefits of personalized medicine for the public and individual health to key stakeholders;
• Providing the viewpoints of leading professionals on public policy issues concerning personalized medicine;
• Establishing the required circumstances to achieve a consensus regarding crucial public and health policy issues and supports the necessary changes in order to raise the public interest and to support the implementation of personalized medicine;
• Popularization of the contribution of personalized medicine to modern health care and affirmation of the societal significance of personalized medicine in the health care system
• Assurance of the access of patients to innovations in the diagnostics and therapy in the field of personalized medicine;

BAPEMED has organized workshops, roundtables, national conferences and international events. Till now, 5 educational forums (Personalized Medicine Schools) were held aiming to raise the competence in the field of personalized medicine across medical and diagnostic specialists, medical students, academia and patients. Furthermore, BAPEMED is one of the ideologists and a co-organizer of BIOTECH ATELIER – the European annual biotech conference, that gathers leading international experts in the field of value based healthcare, digital health, intellectual property, biotech entrepreneurship, business leadership, treatment and diagnostic innovations and many more.

In addition, in 2019 BAPEMED successfully completed its activities on Project “White paper on personalized medicine in Bulgaria – a roadmap for integrating 21^st century innovations in medicine to change healthcare policies through active citizen participation and adoption of patient-centric approach” funded by Operational Programme “Good governance” 2014-2020, ESF

BAPEMED successfully cooperates with industry, scientific and professional associations and patient organizations to find sustainable solutions in the short term on country-specific problems in order to improve the treatment and quality of life of the patients, and hence to optimize the costs in the healthcare system – with the engagement of all of interested parties.

In years, BAPEMED has built up a reliable ecosystem of partners with diverse expertise. BAPEMED’s ecosystem consists of medical universities and multiprofile hospitals, SMEs profiled in: regulations in healthcare, pharmacovigilance, clinical trials and validation studies, commercial structures in healthcare sector and other local and international NGOs.

To achieve its goals, BAPEMED actively cooperates with national, European and international organizations in the healthcare sector for exchange of expertise, experience, good ideas and best practices.

BAPEMED is a member of Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC), and of European Society of Pharmacogenomics and Personalised Therapy (ESPT).

In 2019 BAPEMED and Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society (HIMSS) signed a general agreement on HIMSS Partner Innovation Exchange (HPIE). As a partner, BAPEMED actively participates in HPIE – an initiative that gathers strategic partners in a platform intended to promote a mutually beneficial collaboration for applicable benefits and services, including marketing cross-promotion, educational opportunities and membership.

Following its eagerness for growth and development, via its membership inECHAllianceBAPEMED aims to leverage the untapped potential of digital technologies in the region, to spread knowledge and to connect key stakeholders for the progress of innovation and digitalization of healthcare reality.

We, as an Association for personalized medicine, wish to move beyond conventional approaches to treatment, prevention and healthy lifestyles. In that sense, for us is of extreme importance and priority to use all possibilities and instruments of innovations and technologies to improve healthcare.

Contact details:

Bulgarian Association for Personalised Medicine

Mobile: +359 887 400 863; +359 884 706 680

E-mail: office@bapemed.org

Website: www.bapemed.org