This event will be the third Presidency conference that EAPM will be holding during 2020 - during the Croatia Presidency, a bridging conference between the Croatia and Germany presidencies, and this final event while Germany is at the helm.

Al three events reflect the nature of the relative presidency policies in the healthcare arena, but also act as major events during what will be the first full year of the two new legislative bodies - the European Parliament and the European Commission.

And, of course, since the start of the year we have been dealing with impact and fall out of the Covid-19 crisis.

We need to look ahead to try and understand what a post-Covid world will mean for healthcare readiness and sustainability, health data gathering and sharing, cancer treatments and personalised medicine.

The latter three topics are already being addressed, at least in part, by the European Commission et al, while the first issue cannot be dealt with in any way properly without Europe quickly bringing innovation into its healthcare systems.

Then there is the question of adequate resources being available and, of course, successful implementation.

The optimal use of relevant data is clearly a huge issue as we attempt to optimise healthcare down the line, and there is clearly a need for better access to information, in order that resources can be more rationally allocated.

Other issues that have arisen during the current crisis are those surrounding the need for increased cross-border coordination and cooperation among Member States, and adequate capacity - given an ageing population and the fact that the novel coronavirus will not be our last pandemic.

Essentially, Europe needs more agility in its healthcare systems, while it is clear that the use of the digital can support the much-needed innovation.

Specifically in the area of cancer, looking ahead to the next two decades, there will be a massive increase in cases Europe.

Regulators, industry and healthcare professionals really need to step up to this new reality, and this also applies to citizens, who have a certain degree of responsibility for their own healthcare.

Lifestyle changes will be paramount, and could amount in many cases to the best form of prevention.

This conference will showcase different objectives which both the public and private sector can support, with a view to allowing the EU to present a common objective.

As always, this EAPM event will be in a focused format to allow concrete issues to be tackled and to bring about a dialogue with our policymakers.

In what will eventually (we hope!) be a post-civid world, and the sooner the better, this the perfect time for a lively, informative and productive gathering, involving large numbers of industry professionals, government regulators, patients, academia, and exhibitors all striving to drive insights to action.