Plenary sessions

Session 1: Opening Ceremony

This year we are celebrating that more drugs have been approved which halt fibrosis progression and even reverse fibrosis, and that more are under development. The session will feature keynotes focusing on the clinical aspects of fibrosis and on the molecular mechanisms behind it, showing how the field has changed over the last ten years. This will set the scene for the coming days.

Session 2: The fibrotic impact on obesity and multi organ fibrosis

There are common denominators across fibrotic diseases that we can learn from. Multi-organ fibrosis and fibrosis associated with weight are central themes of this session. Weight-dependent and weight-independent deactivation of fibroblasts is a key topic in the obesity field, with beneficial effects observed in the heart, liver, kidney, and potentially cognitive function, while negative effects may occur in bone and muscle.

Session 3: Tissue destruction in autoimmunity and chronic inflammation

What comes first, tissue destruction leading to generation of peptide fragments that are new to the immune system and then cause autoimmunity, or autoimmunity against ECM proteins? Tissue destruction ultimately results in loss of organ function and organ failure. To achieve true efficacy, it may be necessary to halt tissue destruction itself.

Session 4: Dermatology – a sign of a systemic disease.

Skin manifestations often reflect underlying systemic pathology and provide important insights into disease mechanisms. This session will explore whether tissue turnover is linked to ECM quality and identify key aspects of skin biology that need to be addressed to improve patients’ lives.

Session 5: Fibroblast versus cancer cells – who is in control?

Myofibroblastic cancer-associated fibroblast (myCAF) activity is strongly associated with outcomes in patients with solid tumors. This session will explore the question of what comes first, fibrosis or cancer, and whether we dare to eliminate the barrier. A deep dive into the functions of the barrier generated by myCAFs will highlight its impact on the immune system and discuss how we can best translate these insights to benefit patients.

Session 6: Intestines and the ECM: A target to treat

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasingly being segregated into molecular endotypes characterized either by accelerated tissue formation (fibrostenosis) or by elevated tissue destruction (fistulizing disease). This session will explore which molecular endotypes may be more suitable for specific interventions and how we can detect clinical benefit and remission at an early stage.

Session 7: The Epithelium as a Barrier – IPF and COPD

Fibrosis often begins with epithelial damage which, after prolonged injury, extends into the interstitial ECM and activates fibroblasts. Using oxygen diffusion in the lungs as a reference point, this session will address how to establish the right balance between the epithelial basement membrane and fibroblasts in the interstitial ECM to improve patient outcomes.

Session 8: Wound healing and tissue remodelling

Fibrosis and wound healing are central themes in more than 50 chronic diseases. This session will examine how these processes are interlinked and whether they can be modulated to block fibrosis progression.

Session 9: How to survive a long career path in biotech and big pharma?

Learn from seasoned professionals with more than 25 years of experience in the field. This session will highlight practical life hacks, key dos and don’ts, and strategies to start and nurture a successful career in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Breakout sessions

Breakout session 1: Translational ECM research

This session will explore how to translate preclinical data into the clinical setting and back again. It will address why many preclinical models fail to predict human outcomes and discuss the implications of new FDA regulations that encourage reduced use of animal models in drug development.

Breakout session 2: Osteoarthritis- weight and inflammation

Weight and inflammation are major risk factors for osteoarthritis. With the rapid growth of weight loss therapies, this session will examine how to differentiate their effects on bone, cartilage, and osteoarthritis pain.

Breakout session 3: Aging and when the matrix hits the brain

Cognitive function loss, autoimmunity, tissue destruction in the brain are central components of aging. This session will focus on how to quantify brain destruction and aging processes in order to select the optimal treatment for the right patient population.

Breakout session 4: Precision medicine and the ECM

ECM is on the critical path of many diseases and is as such a target to treat. This session will explore how to connect drug development with biomarkers to advance precision medicine.

Breakout session 5: ECM pharmacology in epithelial dysfunction diseases: lung and intestinal diseases

With two drugs approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and many more in development, this session will explore the next frontier in ECM-targeted therapies for epithelial dysfunction in lung and intestinal diseases.

Breakout session 6: ECM pharmacology in liver diseases

With a new nomenclature for NASH to MASLD, and two new drugs approved for MAFLD, this session will discuss the remaining unmet medical needs and how to address them.

Breakout session 7: Fibroblast heterogeneity

Fibroblasts are not just fibroblasts, and a deeper understanding of their heterogeneity is essential to address their roles across different diseases.

Breakout session 8: Cancer biology and the ECM

This session will examine how fibroblast activity can be targeted through ECM pharmacology to improve patient outcomes.

Breakout session 9: Proteases and tissue destruction – looking at matrix fragments by next-gen proteomics

Fibrogenesis and fibrosis resolution are governed by a wide range of proteases that generate specific protein fragments, known as matrikines. This session will address how we can identify, discover, and target these fragments.

Breakout session 10: New pathways to target in fibrosis

Looking ahead, this session will explore novel pathways that may offer new opportunities for therapeutic intervention in fibrosis.

Breakout session 11: Tissue formation and tissue degradation – two targets to treat in the fibro-inflammatory axis.

This session will explore which pathways can be targeted to block tissue destruction and tissue formation, and how these processes are interrelated within the fibro-inflammatory axis.

Breakout session 12: Tissue destruction in autoimmunity – a target to treat to reach ACR 100?

With many treatments available for autoimmune diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis (AS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and systemic sclerosis (SSc), the next level of patient benefit lies in improving response rates. As the ECM is on the critical path of disease for these autoimmune diseases, this session will explore whether it can be used to stratify patients to achieve response rates approaching 100 percent?