General Meeting and annual event: IML is growing successfully!

IML hosted its General Meeting on 19 June at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce. In a second session open to invited guests, three leading figures from the healthcare ecosystem presented their current activities within the national and international ecosystem. The evening continued with a networking cocktail.

Each year, the Annual General Meeting is an opportunity for our association to bring together our members, to communicate amendments to the bylaws, to vote on proposals and, cyclically, to renew the members of the IML Board of Directors. The new law on non-profit associations has led IML to revise several articles of its by-laws to comply with national regulations. It was also decided to increase the number of members on the Board of Directors. Finally, it was decided that new Pharma.be members would become IML members by right, once they had signed and accepted our association's articles of association. All these decisions were passed by a majority vote.

The meeting then proceeded to elect the members whose term of office was due to be renewed in 2024. The four candidates were elected by a majority, not to say unanimously! IML is delighted to welcome Stéphane Soulard, Head of Market Access and Public Affairs at Boehringer-Ingelheim, as a new member of the Board, and continues its progress with the re-election of Réginald Decraene, Managing Director of Pfizer Luxembourg (Chairman), Frédéric Clais, Country Manager Be Lu at Eli-Lilly and Vincent Depret, Regional Sales Manager South at AstraZeneca.

Finally, Jean-Claude Schmit, Director of the Health Department (Ministry of Health and Social Security) gave an update on current and future reorganisations in the governmental machinery of public health in Luxembourg. "With the plans for a future Luxembourg Medicines Agency, we're well on the way, even if we can't yet say that we've arrived," he joked.

Bridging intelligences and venturing new initiatives

After a short video of patients' testimonials, on which our industries base their decisions, the guests take centre stage. Prof. Ulf Nehrbass, CEO of the Luxembourg Institute of Health, Françoise Berthet, President of the Observatoire National de la Santé and Shirley Feider, President of CAPAT (Cercle des associations de patients) presented their activities on the podium. Each was keen to point out the link between their projects and the pharmaceutical industry. The doors are open to future collaborations.

This event was also a time for sharing and concrete exchanges between people who often communicate via online meetings. In person gatherings foster trust and build confidence. 
On Wednesday 19 June, members of the pharmaceutical companies operating in Luxembourg and representatives of the Luxembourg health authorities were able to continue discussions, some of which had already begun during the economic mission in April 2024 and at previous meetings.

IML's mission and desire is to strengthen its role as a visible, respected and integrated player in discussions concerning innovation, supply, distribution and projects relating to medicines, health data and public health in general. In the light of this Wednesday's discussions, and the appointments already made, we are delighted to be moving in the right direction.