The 6th European Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Products (ECRD 2012) will be held on 23 – 25 May 2012 at the MCE Conference Centre in Brussels, Belgium. > The European Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Products is the unique platform/forum across all rare diseases, across all European countries, bringing together all stakeholders (patients’ representatives, academics, health care professionals, industry and policy makers). > The conference provides the state-of-the-art of the rare disease environment, monitoring and benchmarking initiatives. > It covers research, development of new treatments, health care, social care, information, public health and support at European, national and regional levels. > It is synergistic with national and regional conferences, enhancing efforts of all stakeholders. There is no competition with them, but efforts are complementary, fully respecting initiatives of all.