EFA sustainable corporate partners
Thanks to the trust and support for our mission to advocate change for patients with allergies and airways diseases in Europe, EFA could count on our 10 corporate partners, (Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, DBV Technologies, Menarini, OM Pharma, Pfizer, Regeneron and Sanofi) joining our corporate partners community and providing 30,000 euro annual unrestricted grants.
In 2024, we welcomed two new companies, Almirall and Menarini, and further secured one more to join in 2025. The companies are working in all our disease areas and, generally, also in respiratory diseases or infections.
We secured nine grants for four EFA projects and were honoured to receive a donation from Almirall as a result of their employees’ wellbeing action campaign and voting on the beneficiaries.
This support is empowering much of the work of EFA and we are proud for the transparent corporate partnerships we have.
In the EFA Annual Corporate Partners meeting, we reported on what the outcomes of the financial support are, discussed the EFA project plans, and the support needed for the next year. EFA Board members led discussions on topics arising from our community, including access to resources at national level for patient organisations and bridging the gap in patient advocacy, political climate for patient organisations in some countries, digital transition and new way of communication in health, tobacco free generation, addressing medicine and treatment shortages as a community. Corporate partners brought topics for discussion where they would like to work with EFA community: climate change, environmental impact and tobacco prevention, synergetic approach, and initiatives between stakeholders, data generation and use and patient reported outcomes.
The topics were prioritised by the Board and corporate partners, and EFA will reflect on what the priorities are, and how EFA should take this forward, which would result in a meaningful impact for our members, and their patients’ communities.
EFA Contributed to
EFA and medical societies
At European level, EFA seeks sustained dialogue with medical societies. This patient-doctors relationship is developed on a daily and long-term basis with the aim to collaborate, enrich the research, care and prevention work of healthcare professionals and align towards the disease specific community recommendations to policy-makers. This network involves many prominent patient representatives within EFA’s community, whose expertise and disease specific knowledge is fundamental to ensure patients’ voices and unmet needs are considered in clinical practice and research.
EFA and the European Respiratory Society (ERS)
For many years now, EFA collaborates closely with the European Respiratory Society and its European Lung Foundation. The collaboration is mainly structured through our co-facilitation of the European Lung Health Group (ELHG), which enables nine European level associations working on lung health to align and join forces in advocating for better access to care, prevention and research.
In 2024, EFA attended the ERS Congress in Vienna (Austria) which was a wonderful opportunity to connect with leaders of the society, with EFA members in attendance and with our corporate partners.
In May, ERS Professor Anita Simons and GINA Professor Arzu Yorgancıoğlu collaborated with EFA in identifying critical medicines for asthma and COPD. Both advised us on how the latest scientific guidelines could impact the selection of certain important treatments for chronic respiratory disease.
EFA Vice President Armando Ruiz represents EFA at the European Lung Foundation Patient Advisory Group (ELF PAG).
EFA and the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI)
EFA continued the partnership with the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), the association of clinicians, researchers and allied health professionals dedicated to improving the health of people affected by allergic diseases.
EFA is actively involved in the daily work of the medical society bringing the patient’s perspective. EFA Treasurer Céline Demoulin is the board lead and member of the EAACI Patient Organisation Committee (POC), and EFA President Marcia Podestà is member of the EAACI Patient Organisation Coordinating Committee (POCC) and member of the EAACI Ethics Committee, while also participating in several disease specific task forces.
In May, EFA representatives Céline Demoulin and Susanna Palkonen attended the EAACI Congress 2024 in Valencia. The theme was ‘Revolutionising Patient Care Through the Power of Data Science’, with interesting outlooks on how digital advancements present patients with opportunities for more patient involvement in care and research, but also come with the challenges of losing control and dehumanisation of patients’ needs.
In May, EAACI Professor Ioana Agache collaborated with EFA in identifying critical medicines for allergy, providing with crucial clinical input to the list that EFA had collided to submit to the EMA consultation classifying which medicines are critical and at risk of shortage at EU level.
In November, we worked with our #EFACommunity of members to contribute to the draft EAACI Guidelines on Indoor Air Quality and Asthma. The guidelines aim to bridge the gap between the latest scientific developments and their application for better asthma care, and we thank the medical society for this opportunity that will be reviewed and published in the months to come.
EFA and the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology (EADV)
EFA’s relationship with the healthcare professionals’ associations treating atopic eczema patients moved a step further in 2024. In May, EADV collaborated with EFA in identifying critical medicines for atopic dermatitis, providing with a list of important molecules for treating the disease that EFA submitted to the EMA consultation on the EU’s critical medicines list.
EADV invited EFA to explore collaboration regarding atopic eczema advocacy at the European level, where both organisations presented on their agendas as well as the mutual appetite to join forces and expertise. We also highly welcomed EADV’s support and dissemination of the World Atopic Eczema Day 2025, co-organised by EFA and GlobalSkin.
In September, #EFACommunity joined forces at the annual EADV Congress, representing the voices of atopic eczema patients across Europe. In close collaboration with our local member, VMCE from the Netherlands, we held an active European atopic eczema community presence in the Patient Organisation Area. Our booths served to highlight EFA’s patient-driven advocacy and projects, showcasing our call for improved care and support for atopic eczema patients.
EFA and European research networks
EFA and GA2LEN
EFA has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Global Allergy and Asthma Excellence Network (GA2LEN). In June, EFA President Marcia Podestà represented the organisation at the GA2LEN Anacare Masterclass on the allergic disease across the life cycle 2024, as chair of the session Anaphylaxis: What is unknown?. In September, she also represented EFA at the Anaphylaxis and Food Allergy Forum 2024 (GAFA). She brought the food allergy patient perspective to a workshop discussing thresholds in food allergen and the mandatory labelling in pre-packed food. She also chaired a session on the impact of anaphylaxis on patients and caregivers.
Throughout the year, EFA community also engaged with GA2LEN drafting a couple of scientific papers: The GA2LEN ANACare and EFA Anaphylaxis Manifesto and the GA2LEN and EFA consensus statement for managing food allergy and serious allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) at school that were published in December.
EFA and other organisations and joint health initiatives
EFA and the International Alliance of Dermatology Patients Organisations (Global Skin)
One of the most significant actions that EFA conducts in partnership is the co-organisation of the World Atopic Eczema Day with our partner Global Skin. For the seventh year, we worked together on defining the theme, preparing the day toolkit and mobilising our respective communities on the ground to amplify the European and universal messages.
In September, EFA attended Global Skin Matters Event that centred around amplifying our shared mission for patient empowerment and global understanding of skin diseases. The unity of voices from organisations such as GlobalSkin (the International Alliance of Dermatology Patient Organisations) and EFA Members present in the event made clear that advancing care for skin disease requires a global effort.
EFA and the World Skin Health Coalition
In 2024, EFA attended three meetings of the coalition bringing the European atopic eczema patient perspective, as well as our experience working policy-makers.
As members of the World Skin Health Coalition, in 2024, EFA supported the launch of the #NotJustMySkin campaign, a call to prioritise skin diseases like atopic eczema and to recognise the true challenges: lack of timely diagnosis, lack of accessible or affordable treatments, and the often-overlooked mental health impacts in real-life patient stories of resilience.
EFA and the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA)
EFA Director continued to be GINA Advocate supporting the GINA dissemination committee. Director Susanna Palkonen and Board Member Christine Strous attended GINA’s Partnership meeting at ERS Congress and discussed the importance of dissemination of clinical knowledge to asthma and COPD patients.
EFA and the Global Allergy and Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP)
EFA Participated in the GAAPP Respiratory summit organised in connection with ERS Congress in Vienna and exchanged and connected with the patient groups partners from other continents.