We hope this message finds you healthy and well. 2020 was quite a year, and I'm sure you were happy to ring in 2021, as we were. We want to begin by thanking you for supporting the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) during a year that was not easy for any person, family, or business.
As we look back on 2020, we are grateful for what we accomplished with your support. Like most, COVID-19 impacted the very core of how the IPC operated in 2020, and we had to adapt swiftly. In response to the global pandemic, IPC quickly launched a website resource center, and throughout the year, we provided timely COVID-19 information to nearly 85,000 individuals around the globe.
Although most conferences were canceled or held virtually in 2020, IPC participated in the Japanese Society for Psoriasis Research Congress and the EADV annual congress. These sessions focused on personalized medicine, pathogenesis, the pathophysiology of GPP, biologic naïve patients, selecting a biologic, and managing challenging cases. In addition, we held many virtual meetings and moved forward with some of our most important initiatives, including our Disease Severity and Telemedicine projects and the Global Psoriasis Atlas (GPA).
Like many, 2020 saw us become aficionados of virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom and Teams. While we expect virtual meetings are here to stay, we hope to have the opportunity to meet with many of you face-to-face either late in 2021 or perhaps 2022. In the meantime, we will keep you apprised of our 2021 educational programs, including symposia, global webinars, Masterclasses, and our recently launched IPC Academy Online. So, as we begin the new year, we are feeling gratitude and confidence - gratitude for all of you, our loyal psoriasis enthusiasts, and our appreciation for our talented and dedicated board, councilors, staff, and corporate members who have helped IPC grow and thrive for more than 16 years.
Sincerely,