AIFD and Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa collaborate for a more inclusive healthcare system
07.07.2026
The AIFD Patient Associations Development Academy has entered a new phase in collaboration with the Faculty of Health Sciences (SABIF) and the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa with the aim of strengthening a “patient partnership” approach within the healthcare ecosystem. Introduced through a kick-off workshop and enriched with an academic foundation, the program aims to enhance the institutional capacities of patient associations, enabling them to become more active stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem.
The Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies Association (AIFD), which works to ensure timely and sustainable access to innovative medicines and treatments in Türkiye while enhancing the country’s global competitiveness in pharmaceutical research and development (R&D), has launched another meaningful collaboration to support the more effective integration of patient experience and insights into different processes across the healthcare system. The Patient Associations Development Academy, first launched in 2020, has entered its new phase through a collaboration with the Faculty of Health Sciences (SABIF) and the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa.
As part of the Patient Associations Development Academy, a kick-off workshop held on Thursday, 18 June 2026, at the Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Avcılar Campus brought together representatives from the public sector, academia, industry, and patient associations. Inspired by good practice examples such as EUPATI (European Patients’ Academy on Therapeutic Innovation), the program aims to support the more systematic and effective participation of patient associations in the implementation processes of the healthcare system and to contribute to making these processes more inclusive and effective.
An opening panel bringing together global trends and local practices
At the opening of the program, Prof. Dr. Erol İnce, Vice Rector of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, welcomed the participants. Prof. Dr. S. Haluk Özsarı, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (SABIF) and Project Director, introduced the project and the training programme, while Dr. Ümit Dereli, Secretary General of AIFD, shared the research-based pharmaceutical industry’s approach to a patient-partnership healthcare ecosystem. The panel also featured Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Ünal, Acting Head of the Clinical Research Department at TÜSEB, who discussed a clinical research ecosystem strengthened through patient participation, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rabia Sucu, former President of Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi), who evaluated global trends in patient participation in healthcare policy decision-making.
Prof. Dr. S. Haluk Özsarı: “We aim to strengthen the institutional capacity of patient associations through a scientific education model”
Prof. Dr. S. Haluk Özsarı, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (SABIF) and Project Director, shared the Academy’s training programme and implementation process with the participants: “We designed this programme to strengthen the institutional capacities of patient associations through a scientific and practice-oriented educational approach. Together with our expert academics and instructors from different disciplines at our university, we have developed a comprehensive training programme covering the areas in which associations need support. These range from institutionalisation and clinical research to health literacy and health policy. Our aim is to unify knowledge and experience with practice, thereby contributing to patient associations assuming a more effective and sustainable role within the healthcare ecosystem.”
Dr. Ümit Dereli: “We want to build not only a patient-centred but a patient-partnership healthcare ecosystem.”
Dr. Ümit Dereli, Secretary General of AIFD, emphasised that patient participation is no longer a matter of choice but a necessity in the global healthcare ecosystem. Recalling that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have supported the systematic involvement of patients and patient representatives in regulatory processes for many years, Dereli said: “The people who know best what it means to live with a disease are those who experience it themselves. For this reason, it is of great importance that the knowledge, experience and insights of patients and the associations representing them are reflected in varied processes within the healthcare system. Patient experience contributes to making unmet needs more visible, bringing a different perspective to decision-making processes, and ensuring that research is more closely aligned with real-life needs. Through the Patient Associations Development Academy, which we have been running since 2020, AIFD supports patient associations in acquiring the knowledge and institutional capacity required to contribute more effectively to these processes. Our collaboration with Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa reflects another important step in this approach. We believe that a stronger healthcare ecosystem will only be possible through an understanding in which patients’ voices are not only heard but their experiences are meaningfully reflected in decision-making processes.”
Şule Yüksel: “The new phase of the Patient Associations Development Academy has been shaped by field needs.”
During the workshop, Şule Yüksel, AIFD Corporate Communications and Patient Initiative Manager, shared the results of the mapping and segmentation study conducted to identify the needs of patient associations and presented the vision for the new phase of the AIFD Patient Associations Development Academy, which was developed in line with these findings. Yüksel said: “The starting point of the AIFD Patient Associations Development Academy was the mapping and segmentation studies we conducted to better understand the needs of patient associations. The study, first carried out in 2018 with the participation of 63 patient associations and with the support of AIFD and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), was updated in 2025 with the participation of 56 patient associations. Based on these findings, we launched the Patient Associations Development Academy in 2020, initially focusing on strengthening the institutional capacities of patient associations. Over time, we further developed our programme by drawing inspiration from good practices in Europe, particularly EUPATI’s approach to patient participation and its educational content. Today, thanks to our collaboration with the Faculty of Health Sciences of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, we have taken the Academy into a new phase with a more comprehensive education model built on stronger academic foundations.”