The ASBMR 2025 Annual Meeting will take place from September 5–8, 2025, at the Seattle Convention Center, Seattle, Washington, USA. This meeting is the world’s leading international forum for bone, mineral and musculoskeletal research, bringing together more than 2,500 participants from over 50 countries, including clinicians, researchers, advocacy groups, patient organisations and healthcare professionals.

The program will feature around 100 scientific sessions and close to 1,000 poster presentations, covering a wide range of advances from fundamental science to clinical applications. A key highlight is the ASBMR/RBDA Pre-Meeting Symposium on Rare Bone Diseases: From the Genome to the Lived Experience, scheduled for September 4, 2025, which will focus on how cutting-edge science and the lived experience of people with rare bone conditions can converge to shape better care, research, and innovation.

ERBF contribution

The European Rare Bone Forum (ERBF) will be represented at this meeting through the participation of Catherine Nester, ERBF Board and Steering Group member. She will present a scientific poster entitled: “Accelerating Research and Development for Rare Bone Conditions in Europe: A Multistakeholder Call-to-Action.” ANDO Portugal, as a member of ERBF, played a key role in its realization, collaborating in the authorship of the abstract, submission, and preparation of the presentation and graphics of the poster.

This presentation is directly connected to the important work that ERBF has been leading since 2022, namely the development of a white paper addressing the challenges faced in research for rare bone conditions (RBCs). The white paper proposes concrete solutions to overcome barriers in the research and development (R&D) pathway and serves as a call to action to all RBC stakeholders — including patient organisations, healthcare professionals, researchers, industry, and policymakers.

The ERBF white paper was developed in collaboration with Costello Medical and highlights the need for collaborative, cross-sector approaches to accelerate research and bring meaningful impact to people living with rare bone conditions. Through this participation at the ASBMR 2025 Annual Meeting, ERBF strengthens its commitment to ensuring that the voices and needs of the rare bone community in Europe are represented in the global scientific arena.

It was officially launched during the Joint Congress of the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) on 11 May 2025.

Read the full white paper here: Research and Development of Treatments for Rare Bone Conditions in Europe

Stay tuned to learn more and to be updated on our work on Rare Bone Conditions.

Visit the European Rare Bone Forum for more news and information on Rare Bone Conditions here

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The European Rare Bone Forum (ERBF) is proud to announce the publication of its latest white paper: “Research and Development of Treatments for Rare Bone Conditions in Europe”, developed in collaboration with Costello Medical. This landmark document outlines key challenges and opportunities in advancing therapies for rare bone conditions (RBCs), and calls for stronger cross-sector collaboration, policy support, and investment in R&D.

The white paper was officially launched during the Joint Congress of the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) on 11 May 2025. Representing the ERBF and ANDO Portugal, Inês Alves presented the white paper and emphasized the need for a coordinated European strategy to improve diagnosis, treatment access, and innovation in this underrepresented field.

This white paper is the result of a multi-stakeholder collaboration, bringing together patients, clinicians, researchers, and industry representatives. It highlights the barriers to effective treatment development—such as data fragmentation, limited patient registries, and a lack of targeted funding—and proposes concrete recommendations to drive progress.

Read the full white paper here: Research and Development of Treatments for Rare Bone Conditions in Europe

Stay tuned to learn more and to be updated on our work on Rare Bone Conditions.

Visit the European Rare Bone Forum for more news and information on Rare Bone Conditions here

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The European Rare Bone Forum (ERBF) is proud to announce its participation in the upcoming ESPE-ESE Joint Congress 2025, a leading event bringing together experts in pediatric and adult endocrinology.

At 12:40 CET on 11 May, ERBF will present its recently published white paper titled: “Research and Development of Treatments for Rare Bone Conditions in Europe”

This important work, developed in collaboration with Costello Medical, provides a comprehensive overview of the current challenges, gaps, and opportunities in advancing therapies for rare bone diseases across Europe. This document offers an in-depth analysis of the current landscape of research and innovation in the field of rare bone diseases. It identifies key barriers to the development of effective therapies, highlights disparities in access to care across Europe, and outlines actionable recommendations to accelerate progress through policy, funding, and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

The presentation will be delivered by Inês Alves, representing both ERBF and ANDO Portugal, who will highlight key findings and strategic recommendations to improve patient outcomes and foster collaboration across the rare bone community. We invite all attendees to join this session and take part in the conversation shaping the future of rare bone disease research and innovation.

This session is an important milestone in ERBF’s mission to advance research, drive awareness, and support the development of life-changing treatments for people affected by rare bone conditions.

Learn more about the congress: ESPE-ESE Joint Congress 2025
Take a look at the Congress Programme
Read about ERBF’s initiatives: www.rarebone.org

Stay tuned to learn more and to be updated on our work on Rare Bone Conditions.

Visit the European Rare Bone Forum for more news and information on Rare Bone Conditions here

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Rare Bone Diseases (RBDs) represent a heterogeneous group of 771 rare conditions of genetic origin that affect the development, growth, and structure of bones and cartilage, causing short stature and abnormalities of the limbs, extremities, and spine. A recently published article called Improving care pathways for people living with rare bone diseases intends to outline the priorities for people with these conditions.

During the Rare Bone Disease Summit — which took place in December 2021 — key aspects were discussed and proposals to overcome the challenges and improve the lives of people living with Rare Bone Diseases were presented. This article provides an overview of the key points from this meeting, summarises the subsequent action plan, and discusses the next steps in this continued collaboration. Here are the most important points of the article:

Common challenges in RBDs

Diagnostic Delay

Key unmet needs were identified and diagnostic delay was considered to be a major challenge for patients, their families, and care providers. This delay is related to a lack of awareness of RBDs among healthcare professionals (HCPs), with many, including specialists, not recognizing concerning presenting features that should arouse suspicion of RBDs.

What causes this lack of awareness?
According to the article, “insufficient inclusion of materials related to RBDs in medical school curricula, limited HCP interest and time, a lack of perceived interest from the pharmaceutical industry, and time constraints on HCPs educational and patient-facing time were identified as critical factors that may contribute to poor understanding of RBDs by HCPs. In addition, an absence of appropriate assessment tools or guidelines may also impede a timely, accurate diagnosis.”

Some of the features that were identified during the summit are shown in Fig. 1:

Patient care pathway

According to the article’s authors, “once diagnosed, patients should be on a pathway to receive specialized and personalized care, and dedicated support. However, many aspects of the patient care pathway were highlighted as challenges for patients and caregivers. Primary care physicians are not always aware of how to refer patients or who to refer them to. In addition, in underserved communities, a specialist referral could mean costly journeys or be hampered by language barriers. This lack of effective and timely referrals leaves patients stuck in a diagnostic limbo, during which they do not receive appropriate care nor support“.

The importance of a multidisciplinary team (MDT)
A lack of awareness of the importance of a MDT, and the absence of RBD experts in many countries and regions, can also result in a barrier to care. This is particularly prevalent during the transition from pediatric to adult and adult to geriatric care. “These transitions were described, almost universally, as poor; many patients and caregivers bravely becoming their own care coordinators, while others fall behind into an unsupported path.” It was also identified as a priority the need for RBD referral networks, informing how to refer patients and the location of specialized care centers (SCCs).

Patient-HCP communication

Communication can be challenging for patients and care providers. Patients have difficulty understanding medical terminology, knowing which problems are most relevant/urgent, and expressing how they are feeling. Some have reported feeling like it is their responsibility to explain their diagnosis to physicians to ensure continuation of their own care. However, communication difficulties are bidirectional. Examples of the identified communication gaps are highlighted in Fig. 2:

Cultural differences

The stigma that some communities still hold towards RBDs, mainly because of their physical effects on people, is also an obstacle. As the article points out, “families may hide their children from society and doctors for fear of being excluded“. In these communities there are less patient support groups and “the quality/amount of information they provide also vary around the world, increasing inequalities and leaving many patients feeling isolated or uninformed“.

Overcoming Barriers

Categories of activities to overcome barriers to optimal RBD care

In the article, four main categories of activities that can help overcoming barriers in RBD care were identified and listed. Proposed actions were split in terms of priority: those that could be actioned in the short-term (2022/2023) and those that would be more long-term goals (2024 and beyond). You can find the table here.

The future
The next RBD Summit will focus on aspects that will contribute towards the long-term goal of improving the lives of patients and emphasise the importance of continued collaboration of HCPs, societies, patients and patient organisations, pharmaceutical organisations, and independent medical education providers, in RBDs as well as other therapeutic areas.

This text was based on:
Chandran, M., Alves, I., Carpenter, T. et al. Improving care pathways for people living with rare bone diseases (RBDs): outcomes from the first RBD Summit. Osteoporos Int (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-023-06791-x

Find the complete article here.

Stay tuned to learn more and to be updated on our work on Rare Bone Conditions.

Visit the European Rare Bone Forum for more news and information on Rare Bone Conditions here

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ECTS-ISCBH workshop in conjunction with the European Rare Bone Forum

We are pleased to announce that we will be participating in the ECTS Congress 2023 in Liverpool. The European Rare Bone Forum will be moderating an ECTS-ISCBH Workshop on April 14, 2 pm (GMT+1). The European Rare Bone Forum will be represented by Inês Alves (ERBF Steering group member, President of ANDO Portugal and patient representative at the ERN BOND). You can find the more about this session here.

The European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS) and Bone Research Society (BRS) join forces to provide a unique platform for sharing the most relevant and cutting-edge science and innovation in calcium, bone and mineral metabolism in Europe. Aiming to provide excellent learning and networking opportunities to basic, translational and clinical scientists, specialists, trainees and allied health professional.

ECTS 2023 will be the 60th iteration of this annual congress. The event is a five-day congress, taking place between 14-18 April 2023 and the ECTS-ISCBH workshop in conjunction with the European Rare Bone Forum takes place on Friday the 14th of April.

Stay tuned to learn more and to be updated on our work on Rare Bone Conditions.

Visit the European Rare Bone Forum for more news and information on Rare Bone Conditions here

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ERBF Education Symposium and General Meeting at ECTS 2022

We are pleased to announce that we will be participating in the ECTS Congress 2022 in Helsinki. We will sponsor an Education Symposium and the European Rare Bone Forum General Meeting will also take place during the event.

Stay tuned to learn more and to be updated with the latest news concerning our participation in the congress.

Visit the European Rare Bone Forum for more news and information on Rare Bone Conditions here

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On Jan 24, Ipsen announced the Canada approval of Sohonos (palovarotene capsules). Indicated to reduce new bone formation in adults and children (8 years and above for females and 10 years and above for males) with FOP. Sohonos is approved for both chronic use, and for flare-ups. It is the first approval for Sohonos worldwide.

FOP is a progressive and debilitating condition which has such a profound impact on patients, and their families. Until today, there was no approved medicine, and we are proud to bring this important new medicine to the FOP community

Dr. Howard Mayer, Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development, Ipsen

About the MOVE clinical program

This approval is based on data from the MOVE trial. The first global multi-center Phase III trial in FOP. MOVE is an open-label, single-arm trial, evaluating the efficacy and safety of palovarotene in decreasing new ossification volume in patients with FOP.

About Sohonos

Sohonos is an oral, selective RARγ agonist developed as a treatment for people living with this debilitating ultra-rare genetic disorder. The treatment was acquired by Ipsen through the acquisition of Clementia Pharmaceuticals.

About Ipsen

Ipsen is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on transformative medicines in Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience; For more information, visit ipsen.com.

Source:

Business Wire

Visit the European Rare Bone Forum (ERBF) for more news and information on Rare Bone Conditions here

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The Call to Action project is a ERBF initiative that aims to analyse the current RBD research landscape, identify unmet needs in RBD and their societal impact, identify current gaps or barriers that are hindering R&D processes, and propose solutions to address these.

Phase 1 of the will focus on collecting evidence to provide valuable insights into RBD research including the identification of key opinion leaders (KOLs) and top research institutes, key unmet needs and their societal impact, gaps or barriers hindering R&D progress, and potential solutions to address key challenges. Findings from this project will feed into Phase 2 of the ‘call to action’ which aims to influence policies at the national and European level.

Find out more about the European Rare Bone Forum Call to Action here.

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This Webinar has the support of the European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS).

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