Impressions and reflections of the IBMS Congress 2022 event

The Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) Congress is always a busy, exciting and engaging, and the fact that so few in-person events have taken place recently made this year’s particularly special. Roche Diagnostics was delighted to be the principal sponsor of the IBMS Congress 2022, which took place at the Birmingham ICC in March, with the never more apt theme of ‘delivering science, celebrating achievement’. On the back of the last two years, and the prominent role biomedical science and scientists have played in our collective response to the pandemic, it felt more important than ever to bring together exhibition stands, keynote speeches and workshops in one space to celebrate that contribution and look to the future.

                We have all done our best with running this type of event virtually, but you definitely can’t beat the collective energy and buzz generated by coming together in person. And, as restrictions were gradually starting to lift, Congress felt like the perfect opportunity to take stock, reflect on the sheer amount of innovation and progress being made in biomedical science and to turn our focus to the future of in vitro diagnostics (IVDs), mass spectrometry and digital pathology, among other things.

                Roche is proud to have been a part of the solution to the immense challenges of the pandemic – including launching the first commercially available PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 in March 2020 – and delivering it to the NHS frontline in record time. And while we know that the pandemic is far from over, it does also feel like the right time to look to the future, which is why the IBMS event was the perfect opportunity to kickstart some of those conversations and to bring everyone together to share stories, expertise and, of course, coffee.