179 million Europeans are currently living with brain disorders and this is to steadily increase as the population ages. Though one in three Europeans are set to live with a brain disease at some point of their life, neurological and mental alike. In addition, it is estimated that brain disorders account for up to 45% of total healthcare budgets and this burden is expected to grow.

Despite the prevalence of brain disorders in Europe, there is currently no disease modifying treatment available to cure a wide range of mental and neurological conditions. Developing treatments that can significantly improve the lives of those living with brain disorders is extremely challenging.

Yet, compared to other disease areas, the pace of innovation in this field has traditionally been hindered by multiple factors, including the complexity of the brain itself. As a result, brain treatments remain insufficient and research is disproportionately underfunded compared to other disease areas. We believe enhanced multi-stakeholder engagement in the brain ecosystem is needed to foster dialogue, exchange knowledge, accelerate investment in research and innovation, facilitate business development and showcase on-going work.

The Brain Innovation Days were created to tackle these challenges.

The Brain Innovation Days were launched virtually in October 2020, kicking off one full year of a packed brain innovation agenda leading up to the Brussels on-site event on 12-13 October 2021.

The launch event “Disrupt and Rewire: How Brain Innovation is changing Europe” brought together key stakeholders from the wider brain community (scientists, researchers, clinicians, patient representatives, industry) as well as representatives from the European Commission, European Parliament, Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and explored the importance of innovation, particularly in the European brain space.

The second Brain Innovation Days digital session, which was held on 26 January 2021 under the theme “From Innovative Ideas to Creative Brain Interventions”, hosted the first ever Brain Innovation Days Pitch Competition, where a number of start-ups went head-to-head to pitch their business for the chance to win Best Pitch, awarded by a jury of esteemed experts in related fields.

The purpose of the 3rd Brain Innovation Days digital event “Fast-tracking brain innovation in times of COVID-19″ was to explore the positive direct and indirect results of COVID-19 pandemic response and research on the brain innovation ecosystem, what lessons have been learned, what countries have come out winning, what advancements have been made and what threats lie ahead – particularly when and if the world returns to the pre-COVID status quo. The session featured testimonials from key opinions leaders, patients, representatives from the EU and WHO level and the industries that were forced to adapt to this rapid change of pace in innovation.

Under the overarching theme, “United for Brain Innovation”, the Brain Innovation Days on-site event took place on 12-13 October 2021 with the aim to bring together key opinion leaders and stakeholders from the ever-growing brain innovation ecosystem to create synergies and showcase the importance of brain innovation and how, one innovation at a time, it is changing Europe and the world. Have a look at the official aftermovie below!

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