Prestigious ICIQ meeting held at FIC
Copenhagen, Denmark – February 3, 2005 –
Today, Ferring International Center (FIC) hosts for the first time the meeting of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaires (ICIQ). Drawn from around the world, the ICIQ is an international group of scientists, medical doctors and representatives from pharmaceutical companies, which share a profound interest in urinary diseases and the impact they have on quality of life.
By focusing on quality of life (QoL), the ICIQ aims to break new ground in the assessment of the true impact of disease, in this case urinary disease, on the person him or herself. Whilst medicine has traditionally focused on symptoms, the effect of these on individuals’ day-to-day lives may vary considerably – a complete social disability to one might be a minor inconvenience to another.
Understanding QoL, therefore, from the perspective of the patient not the doctor is an important and hitherto under-appreciated step in correct diagnosis and treatment. This is increasingly recognised by regulatory bodies such as the EMEA and the FDA which have started to look more and more for quality of life evaluations.
Given this, the ICIQ is aiming to develop rigorous, questionnaire-based measurement tools in the field of urology. Urinary symptoms – an overactive bladder, urinary and bowel incontinence and Nocturia (the need to urinate several times during the night) and also for the first time an evaluation on QoL in children suffering from PNE is done – all in conditions that can cause considerable misery and embarrassment, severely undermining a person’s confidence and ability to get through their day.
The focus on urinary disorders is, therefore, both timely and important. The ICIQ is developing questionnaires of the highest professional standard, psychometrically tested to ensure validity, reliability and responsiveness. As these will be standardised, they will enable comparisons to be made between both treatments and countries, allowing patients to make choices between treatments and pharmaceutical companies to assess the true benefits of new drug candidates on patients.
Ferring is actively participating in the work of ICIQ and thus is currently developing a QoL questionnaire on bedwetting children in connecting with the testing of the MINIRIN Melt.
Dr Jens Peter Nørgaard, Chief Scientific Officer, Medical Sciences, Urology of Ferring and based at FIC, said today,
“We are delighted to be hosting this prestigious forum. The ICIQ is doing important work in an exciting new field of study. We are convinced that Quality of Life will become an increasingly relevant part of future treatment assessment and patient diagnosis and Ferring’s long-standing focus on medicine on the body’s own terms makes us a natural partner in the ICIQ’s work.”
About Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Ferring is a Swiss based research driven, speciality biopharmaceutical group active in global markets. The company identifies, develops and markets innovative products in the areas of urology, obstetrics and infertility, gastroenterology and endocrinology.
In recent years Ferring has expanded beyond its traditional European base and now has operating subsidiaries in over 40 countries.
For more information, please contact
Dr Jens Peter Nørgaard
Chief Scientific Officer, Medical Sciences, Urology
+45 28787547