In 2018 the Society’s Corporate Liaison Board became a full committee of Council. This change is in recognition of the vital role played in our community by our partners in industry and to ensure that the Society’s engagement with industry continues to strengthen and develop. Our aim is to work even more closely with industry partners to help identify and develop educational projects and other initiatives that will benefit our members, and the wider endocrine community.

While the Society has always had an essential and fruitful relationship with industry, it has in the past sometimes been rather transactional in nature. Many pharmaceutical companies participate in exhibitions at our conferences and meetings, and several contribute financially to one-off defined initiatives. The Society’s Corporate Liaison Board met annually with corporate supporters for feedback on their experience of the Society but it was acknowledged that this left a gap in communication with them for the rest of the year.

Under the guidance of the Corporate Liaison Board, the Society increasingly recognises the importance of forging stronger links with our industry partners, including pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, equipment manufacturers and service providers, who are also essential for the advancement of research and clinical care. It is important that we have a two-way relationship with these industry partners, and that they are seen by all to be an integral part of the endocrine community as their input can help to advance our discipline.

The new Committee will facilitate our industry links and strengthen communication between these partners and our members. It will also be able to provide oversight and ensure that our relationships with industry are appropriate, beneficial and remain within the strategic aims of the Society.

The Society’s relationship with industry goes beyond the clinical care aspects of drug development, delivery and marketing to the changing regulatory environment and how it affects pharmaceutical business, as well as progress in clinical and academic research. By opening up more opportunities for communication and collaboration with industry through the Corporate Liaison Committee, we will build stronger links, and better address challenges in patient care together. For example, the Committee is keen to promote communication between the research community and industry, to enable information around the basic science and mechanisms of disease processes to be exchanged with industry expertise on drug discovery. Bringing these parties closer together could open up new opportunities and make important contributions to endocrinology.

The Committee is actively looking for new members, and is especially keen that all areas of endocrinology are represented. The members of the Committee should reflect the diversity of the endocrine community, from basic scientists and researchers to clinicians and nurses, all of whom can bring new insights to our discussions.

Could you help in this area of the Corporate Liaison Committee’s work?

If you are interested in joining the Committee, or simply contributing informally to the discussion, please contact Rachel Austin ([email protected]) for more information.