The Hilfenhaus Award conferred to Prof. Farkas at the IPPC 2017

Besides, Prof. Farkas was the first one to start the treatment of HAE in Hungary. Her commitment earned her several awards and recognitions, e.g. the ‘Jendrassik Ernő’ Medal and Award of Semmelweis University in 2005, the 'L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science' in 2013 and the ‘For HAE Patients’ Award of the International HAE Working Group in 2013. She is also member of many important bodies, such as the Committee of the Hungarian Allergology and Clinical Immunology Society, the Hungarian Professional College of Immunology & Allergology, the Medical Advisory Board of International Patient Organization for C1-Inhibitor Deficiencies, the International HAE Working Group, and the World Allergy Organization Steering Committee for Angioedema.

During the ceremony, Prof. Farkas gave a very clear overview of HAE, outlining the symptoms, the life-threatening consequences, the mechanism of activation of HAE and different treatment options.

She then reported how access to care developed throughout the years in Hungary, evolving from a very stringent approach in the 1980s, to a mere hospital use in the following decade and finally to self-administration in 2011. Prof. Farkas also presented the diverse activities carried out in the Hungarian Angioedema Center; it is the core of the regional HAE Network project, which aims at accelerating the proliferation of such centers in neighboring Countries, as well as providing workshops and training courses. She finally presented some remarks on efficacy and safety of the therapy with plasma derived C1-inhibitor, both in the short and in the long-term prophylaxis, specifically in pediatric and female patients.