On 12–13 May 2026, over 250 members of the global drug repurposing community gathered at Maison de la Poste in Brussels for iDR26, the third edition of the International Drug Repurposing Conference.
Organised by Beacon for Rare Diseases and REMEDi4ALL, an EU-funded research initiative coordinated by EATRIS, the theme of this year’s conference was “Navigating the future”. Over two days and across four thematic tracks, researchers, clinicians, patient organisations, industry, regulators, and funders came together to explore how emerging tools, evolving frameworks and collaborative models can better translate repurposing efforts into patient benefit.
From scientific innovation to funding coordination, policy reform and community-led initiatives, the conference reinforced that no single actor can drive change alone. Delivering impact will depend on connecting efforts across the pathway: aligning incentives, sharing knowledge and maintaining a clear focus on patient benefit.
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iDR: Bridging Boundaries and Breaking Silos
Understanding how we can overcome the systemic challenges blocking drug repurposing from delivering on its potential has been a major focus of both previous editions of iDR and iDR26 alike.
With this year’s conference hosted in Brussels, at the heart of Europe, discussions increasingly turned to how policy and regulation can better translate repurposing efforts into patient benefit. Speakers from the European Commission Directorate-General for Health & Food Safety, the European Medicines Agency and national authorities discussed elements of the forthcoming pharmaceutical legislation, including proposed incentives for repurposing and mechanisms enabling non-profit entities to submit evidence for new indications.
These discussions also built on REMEDi4ALL’s ongoing policy work to identify key barriers to drug repurposing and explore mechanisms to better align regulatory, funding and market access pathways. Days before iDR26 kicked off in Brussels, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery published a new article co-authored by EATRIS, sharing key insights from previous International Drug Repurposing Conferences (iDR) on how to unlock the full potential of drug repurposing.
Insights from the EATRIS Community
“The Discovery tracks highlighted that the huge technological advancements spurred by Artificial Intelligence are a great opportunity to unlock the full potential of drug repurposing. These must go hand in hand with a high-quality development plan to progress the most promising repurposing hypotheses in the discovery and development pipeline. Furthermore, these sessions illustrated the various tools, resources, scientific concepts and platforms that are now maturing to support the validation and translation of these hypotheses, which find their origin in a plethora of preclinical and clinical observations pivotal for drug repurposing.”
– Martin de Kort (Scientific Lead Medicines Development)
“What makes this conference series so special is the warm sense of community. iDR is a moment for the community to come together around one common goal: making repurposing the new norm”
– Nikoleta Efthymiopoulou (Scientific Project Management Assistant)
Conference Highlights
Swipe to explore highlights from plenary sessions and four engaging tracks across two days at iDR26. Click on the image to read more.
