ATS 2022: Energized and Ambitious for Patients

Nothing has brought to life GSK’s goal of getting ahead of disease for me more than the energy and passion at this year’s American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference in San Francisco. Nearly 14,000 respiratory care providers from around the world came together to discuss new approaches and key learnings, highlighting a renewed focus on progress in respiratory diseases. You could see the attendees’ emphasis on improving the lives of their patients and feel their commitment to be ambitious for them. And being in person after two years of virtual engagements added to everyone’s excitement.

For me, this commitment is most pressing for our COPD and asthma patients. Unlike some chronic conditions that are treated proactively to lessen symptoms, patients with COPD or asthma often under report the burden of their symptoms until they experience a major event – think exacerbations and asthma attacks. As a respiratory community, we have an opportunity to change this together.

Here are some key observations from my time engaging with Pulmonologists, Scientists, Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, Pharmacists and industry leaders at ATS that can support our common goal of helping patients breathe easier:

1)???Patients are People: It was striking to listen to several globally recognized respiratory thought leaders move quickly from discussing lab results to quality-of-life improvements and then to a lively discussion of “in reality, what does this actually mean to a 60-year-old woman suffering from COPD?” It seems that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic we are seeing an even more intense focus on the direct effect of treatment on how a patient feels.

2)???Treatments are Rapidly Changing to Fit Each Patient: In the treatment of asthma and COPD, medicines, diagnostics, and devices are becoming more focused on treating a specific individual rather than a collective population. This is great for patients but comes with the obligation of professionals staying up to date with new entrants and constantly reevaluating options. It also makes it critical for companies like GSK to offer both in-person and virtual educational resources to support their efforts.

3)???Collaboration Reigns: Did COVID make us more collaborative? Maybe. I hope so. I noticed greater cooperation, sharing of ideas and perspectives amongst all attendees. In particular, the thematic poster session was buzzing with conversation, and I sensed a good deal more focus on opportunity rather than challenges.

Keeping tabs on these trends is important. A significant portion of my role at GSK is ensuring we focus on making medicines available to appropriate patients living with COPD and asthma.

My time at ATS reinvigorated and reinforced my ambition to help patients breathe better. Our distinguished history of more than 50 years in respiratory care is long, but our focus is the future.

Let’s get ahead together.

#ATS2022 #respiratory #respiratorycare #COPD #asthma #GSK #GSKproud?