In 2024, the BPS delivered a total of 34 events, including eight National Virtual Training workshops, five in-person training workshops, one Educator Network meeting, two in-person focus meetings, six webinars and three Pharmacogenetics and Stratified Medicine Network events. In addition, the team delivered five workshops as part of the Innovate UK Pharmacogenomics project. As well as BPS-run events, we supported three partner events, providing opportunities for members to present their science through sponsored tracks at these cross-sector meetings. Overall, the BPS received over 3,000 event registrations in 2024, and £158,085 in event registration income. The events portfolio recorded a surplus in excess of direct costs of over £20,000 this year.
Creating a meetings portfolio that is cost neutral has been part of our strategy to stabilise falling income and increasing costs. The positive financial position allowed the Society to release an additional £20,000 of travel bursaries for Pharmacology 2024 to support member attendance in the face of reduce institutional and personal funds. This will be reviewed regularly going forwards and already in 2025 we have been able to release £100,000 of additional funds to support member travel to meetings across the year.
Pharmacology 2024, held in December, brought together 777 delegates from 60 countries for a vibrant meeting showcasing the latest breakthroughs in pharmacological research. The event buzzed with scientific exchange, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the energy of a truly international community.
This year’s meeting saw impressive growth in both partnership and registration income, reflecting its global profile and appeal. Although the event posted a small financial loss relative to direct costs, the net cost was significantly lower than in comparable previous years, thanks to strong financial performance across the Society’s 2024 events portfolio. Demonstrating our commitment to nurturing future leaders in pharmacology, the Society was able to release an additional £20,000 in bursaries, enabling over 50 early- and mid-career researchers to attend, present, and connect at the meeting.
Following the appointment of a Sponsorship and Partnerships Manager in January, we saw significant growth in our partnerships income. In addition, a successful partnership with AstraZeneca led to a joint conference generating a net surplus on direct costs of £42,000 in October, which enabled us to run additional free activities for members in the year. We have also been approached by several sister societies looking to partner with the BPS, and, as well as continuing our existing partnerships with the British Toxicology Society, The Physiology Society and the British Neuroscience Association, we are currently working towards a joint conference with the Federation for Innovative Drug Research Netherlands (FIGON) in the Netherlands in 2025, which will celebrate Dutch Medicines Days and bring together those working in pharmaceutical sciences from across Europe. We have also partnered with the Irish Association of Pharmacologists for Pharmacology 2025 in Belfast, as well as other potential joint meetings in the pipeline for 2026.
Growth of the portfolio of training workshops has been slower than planned, as the Society capitalised on the opportunity to collaborate with the University of Liverpool to apply successfully for a grant from Innovate UK to explore the potential to develop a Centre of Excellence in pharmacogenomics and regulation. This grant subsequently resulted in a larger joint-grant application being submitted in October 2024 with University of Liverpool, QMUL and other partners to launch the Centre, with funding approval received in late 2024 showcasing how we are building a portfolio of events and training that supports our ambitions to progress pharmacology priorities that are important to us and our community.