ESMO EBN Presentation Safety and Sustainability October 2025

The European Biosafety Network (EBN) participated in the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Berlin, marking an important milestone in its ongoing work to improve the protection of healthcare workers from exposure to hazardous medicinal products (HMPs). On Saturday 18 October 2025, EBN Secretary Josh Cobb presented at the EONS18 “Safety & Sustainability” session (16:45–18:00, Potsdam Auditorium, Hall 5.1), sharing insights from the organisation’s new flagship study with the Konferenz Onkologischer Kranken- und Kinderkrankenpflege (KOK). The research, conducted in partnership with KOK, surveyed oncology nurses across Germany to understand their experiences in handling HMPs and the musculoskeletal and reproductive health risks associated with chronic exposure. The EONS18 session was chaired by Ana Rita Dias Teixeira Sousa (Lisbon, Portugal) and Helena Ullgren (Solna, Sweden), and explored patient and healthcare worker safety through six expert contributions: David Schwappach (Bern, Switzerland) – Patient safety, past, present and future Liora Bowers (Paris, France) – Delivering high quality cancer care Marika Saar (Tartu, Estonia) – Hidden risks: occupational drug safety for healthcare professionals Karen Campbell (London, United Kingdom) – Working towards positive change in understanding occupational exposure in chemotherapy administration: a workflow observational and contamination sampling study Joshua Cobb (Brussels, Belgium) – EBN & KOK Flagship study launch: Oncology nursing & HMP handling in Germany The EBN presentation highlighted the urgency of protecting Europe’s oncology workforce from daily exposure to antineoplastics, immunosuppressants, and other hazardous medicines. “The industry is innovating patient care faster than ever,” he told delegates, “but we are still lacking in protecting the staff caring for those patients.” Although the full study results are awaiting peer-reviewed publication, preliminary findings show widespread variation in protective practices and a concerning lack of closed-system transfer device (CSTD) use in many German hospitals. These insights support the growing European consensus on the need for mandatory implementation of closed systems, comprehensive risk assessment, and routine monitoring across all stages of the HMP life cycle, consistent with the EU Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances Directive (CMRD) 2022 and the European Commission’s 2023 Guidance on Safe Handling of HMPs. The EBN’s participation at ESMO coincided with the organisation’s wider campaign for safe and sustainable oncology practice, building on recent outputs including its 2024 White Paper on preventing HMP exposure through closed systems. This year’s ESMO Congress celebrated the 50th anniversary of the European Society for Medical Oncology — a milestone reflecting five decades of advancing cancer care through research, education, and multidisciplinary collaboration. The 2025 theme, “Transforming progress into lasting impact,” underscored the importance of sustainability and workforce safety as central pillars of modern oncology. The EBN presentation drew strong engagement from European oncology professionals, regulators, and industry partners. Delegates emphasised the need to close the gap between rapid therapeutic innovation and the slower adoption of safety technology for the healthcare staff administering these drugs. The EBN continues to work across Europe with nursing associations, policymakers, and hospital pharmacists to ensure that every healthcare worker handling hazardous medicinal products is trained, protected, and equipped with the safest technologies available.