In November, representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacies and healthcare gather at the annual Swedish Pharmaceutical Congress. We had a chat with Anders Pesula at The Swedish Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences to hear about this year’s theme.

Anders_PesulaAnders Pesula, Swedish Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences, what will be the theme of this year’s congress?
“The focus will be on pain and pain relief. This is always an important area to highlight and that concerns a great deal of patients. There has been some development over the last few years and new knowledge on novel substances and treatments will be presented during the congress. This involves looking at differences in pain treatment between children and adults as well as various ways of administration such as technical devices and formulations. Also, there will be a possibility to get insight into the practical work of pain clinics where multi-professional teams are collaborating. For example, we have invited a pharmacist who works clinically in England who we hope can be a source of inspiration. In addition, the agenda will include a presentation on new principles and compounds to look at substances regarding neuropathic pain, an area which has been lacking good possibilities. This year we have put much energy into making a program with more depth, as requested by previous participants. Thus, there will be fewer seminars but with longer presentations during the congress.”

What is the aim with the congress?
“The goal is to spread knowledge about pharmaceuticals. But the congress is also a place for networking and meeting colleagues. The purpose from the Swedish Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences is that the event can be a platform for interacting. The congress is unique in that it combines a cross-professional networking. The congress attracts visitors from the industry as well as pharmacies, healthcare, authorities and universities. Also, it is important to emphasize that it is a non-profit organization behind the event. This enables us to work in a long-term process and make us of our large networks.”

The Swedish Pharmaceutical Congress takes place on November 12-13 at Stockholm Waterfront. The official Congress language is Swedish, however a number of sessions will be held in English.