ECAB – European Community Advisory Board

Why?

The European Community Advisory Board – ECAB was created in 1997. At the time, patient advisory boards only existed on an ad-hoc basis and were convened by the pharmaceutical companies, a major limitation that ECAB successfully overcame by putting forward an innovative model for the patient community to provide meaningful, independent, and valued input in research on treatment, prevention and quality of life for HIV and its main co-infections and related medical conditions.

What?

ECAB is a high-level scientific platform that brings together civil society, scientific researchers, the pharmaceutical industry and international institutions to address key science and access issues related to HIV and its main co-infections and related medical conditions.

EATG, within the remit of the European Community Advisory Board (ECAB), addresses critical scientific questions around HIV drug-development and its main coinfections as well as access to treatment in the European region as defined by the World Health Organisation.

With whom?

ECAB meetings are attended by expert community members and treatment advocates coming from the across Europe and Central Asia continuously working together to end the epidemic by advancing research on HIV/AIDS and its main co-infections/conditions, broadening access to treatment, training/mentoring new HIV/AIDS advocates and ensuring that the community of people living with HIV is a permanent and highly-recognised voice in the research arena. It is a volunteer, community-based initiative, also collaborating actively with national and regional Community Advisory Boards in Europe and other groups sharing the same philosophy in other geographical areas. Many ECAB participants are living with HIV. ECAB participants represent the diverse needs, interests, and concerns of the entire spectrum of the European HIV community (women, men, trans population, sex workers, people who use drugs, ethnic minorities, people in detention, and other underrepresented populations).

How?

ECAB’s work includes:

• Reviewing clinical trial protocols giving the point of view of the community of people living with HIV
• Promoting best practices procedures and ethics
• Promoting research developments improving the quality of life for people living with HIV
• Promoting universal access to fair, sustainable, affordable drugs

At ECAB meetings community members meet regularly with the pharmaceutical industry and researchers to discuss, under confidentiality, the advances in HIV drug development and related co-infections, and access to treatment in Europe and Central Asia.

ECAB meetings and activities do not only focus on HIV/AIDS. Thematic ECAB meetings are also organised on important topics such as viral hepatitis, tuberculosis as co-infections, diagnostics, prevention, patient reported outcomes, gender representation in clinical trials, etc.

For what outcome?

ECAB activities aim to promote the harmonisation of the best available clinical practices, standards of care and access to the latest and best available therapies and diagnostic tools throughout Europe, with a particular regard to Eastern Europe and Central Asia.