Published on February 16, 2026

On 24 February, in Brussels and online, EURORDIS will bring the rare disease community together for its fifteenth Black Pearl Awards ceremony, held in the lead‑up to Rare Disease Day.

EURORDIS Black Pearl Awards 2026: celebrating rare disease champions in Brussels and online

The EURORDIS Black Pearl Awards have been held annually since 2012 to recognise outstanding achievements by people living with a rare disease and those working alongside them — including patient advocates and organisations, policymakers, scientists, companies and others committed to improving lives. Since February 2023, the awards have been a fully hybrid event, with both in‑person participation in Brussels and an online platform.

For 2026, the ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 24 February at the Cardo Hotel, Brussels, with online participation available via EURORDIS’ interactive platform. The awards ceremony will also be translated into 61 languages.

2026 awardees highlighted

Among the 2026 awardees are: Jakub Dvořáček, recipient of the EURORDIS Policy Maker Award; Saventic Health, recipient of the EURORDIS Company Award for Health Technology; Dr Ágnes Cser, recipient of the EURORDIS Leadership Award; and Roche and King’s College London, as project leads of the AIMS-2-TRIALS consortium, recipients of the EURORDIS Company Award for Patient Engagement.

More information and registration details and agenda are available here.

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