The 2021 IOF President’s Award was presented today to Dr Philippe Halbout, CEO and former Executive President of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), the largest global NGO in the bone field. The IOF President’s Award honours significant contributions to the advancement of the work of IOF and commitment to the bone field through furthering one or more of the mission statements and/or goals of the Foundation.

Professor Cyrus Cooper, President of IOF stated: 

“With this Award we recognize and thank Dr Halbout for his outstanding commitment to the International Osteoporosis Foundation and the bone field as whole. Since 2016, in his role as IOF’s Chief Executive Officer, he has established and overseen the effective development of many ambitious initiatives, setting the Foundation on track for continued progress and notable future achievements.”

Dr Halbout earned his Ph.D. in immunology from the Pasteur Institute in Paris. He has extensive experience in the bone field and looks back on a successful 15-year career in the industry where he held leadership roles in Research and Development as well as International Marketing, with a specific focus on osteoporosis therapy. He has also held the Director of Competitive Intelligence position for all therapeutic areas at the global level. 

In his role as CEO of the International Osteoporosis Foundation, Dr Halbout has put osteoporosis and secondary fracture prevention at the forefront of the Foundation’s work, establishing and delivering ambitious initiatives such as the Capture the Fracture^® Partnership to enhance the outreach and impact of IOF’s landmark Capture the Fracture^® programme. He has strengthened IOF’s patient-centred communications, spearheading impactful initiatives including the IOF Global Patient Charter, IOF Osteoporosis Risk Check, Give Patients A Voice video campaign, and World Osteoporosis Day patient-focused outreach. As well, a new IOF website with an extensive Educational Hub has greatly reinforced the Foundation’s capacity to provide targeted information and communication to patients, healthcare professionals and policy makers alike. He has prioritized collaboration and organizational outreach by strengthening and building alliances with organizations in the field, including FFN, ISCD, ROS, Osteoporosis Canada, AFOS, APFFA, APOA and APCO, among others. Over the past few years Dr Halbout has overseen the publication of important policy audits and reports, including ‘Broken bones, broken lives’, the IOF Compendium of Osteoporosis, and most recently, SCOPE 2021: a new scorecard for osteoporosis in Europe – all initiatives which aim to raise awareness and drive action in response to the global fragility fracture crisis. Most recently, through the establishment of the IOF Skeletal Rare Disease Academy, IOF has also highlighted its significant expertise in, and support of, rare bone disorders.  

The IOF President's Award was presented at the opening of the CME-accredited World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis & Musculoskeletal Diseases (Virtual WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2021), which continues until August 28th.

###

About the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis & Musculoskeletal Diseases (WCO-IOF-ESCEO)
Held jointly by IOF and ESCEO, the WCO-IOF-ESCEO annual congress is the world’s largest forum for the presentation of clinical research and new advances in the prevention and management of musculoskeletal disorders, including sarcopenia and frailty. WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2021 will be held as a virtual congress from August 26 to 28, 2021, with access on demand for registrants up to three months following the congress. For complete information visit http://virtual.wco-iof-esceo.org/   #OsteoCongress

About IOF
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is the world's largest nongovernmental organization dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. IOF members, including committees of scientific researchers as well as 268 patient, medical and research societies, work together to make fracture prevention and healthy mobility a worldwide heath care priority. https://www.osteoporosis.foundation  @iofbonehealth

About ESCEO
The European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to a close interaction between clinical scientists dealing with rheumatic disorders, pharmaceutical industry developing new compounds in this field, regulators responsible for the registration of such drugs and health policy makers, to integrate the management of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis within the comprehensive perspective of health resources utilization. The objective of ESCEO is to provide practitioners with the latest clinical and economic information, allowing them to organize their daily practice, in an evidence-based medicine perspective, with a cost-conscious perception. www.esceo.org