Why I'll Go Back To Partnerships In Clinical Trials
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader magazine
The annual Partnerships in Clinical Trials event took place March 4 to 7 in Orlando, FL. It kicked off on Sunday with a Women's Clinical Leadership Forum. As I was unable to attend this part of the conference I sought insight from those who did. The consensus – the forum exceeded their expectations. Mary Rose Keller, VP clinical operations, Sangart, told me she expected the event to be lightly attended as this was its first year. She related to me that about 80 women not only attended, but were actively engaged. Joan Chambers, chief operations officer with CenterWatch, told me she enjoyed the networking opportunities at the forum. However, she and colleague, Cheryl Appel Rosenfeld, did have some suggestions for making it better for next year. According to Chambers, she would like to see the addition of a roundtable discussion format with each roundtable having different subject matter. She felt that much of the focus was on life/work balance for those juggling career and family, and this might not apply to everyone given their current career and life stage. Rosenfeld, on-the-other-hand, would like to see the forum built into the main conference, as in not being held on a Sunday. She, like many dual-career couples with children, finds it difficult to give up any part of a weekend to attend conferences.
Patient Participation In Clinical Trials
The conference for me officially started on Monday with great keynotes from Deirdre Bevard, VP development operations, Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENDP) and Gareth Morgan, head global portfolio management, Shionogi (4507: Tokyo). Both discussed the importance of patient participation in clinical trials for future drug development. This was followed by Peter Mueller, Ph.D, chief science office and EVP, global R&D, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX), who described how patients and families feel when being diagnosed with a disease, referencing Jerry Mayfield as an example ( for more information go to www.newcmldrug.com). Mueller then invited Emily Schaller, founder of Rock CF Foundation (www.letsrockcf.org) to share her personal experience of living with cystic fibrosis (CF) and her decision to participate in a clinical trial for an experimental CF treatment.
Consistent Themes: Strategic Partnering, Innovation
As I walked the event floor, I had the opportunity to interact with vendors and sponsors (Chiltern, ICON, J&J, KPS, Parexel, PRA, Purdue, Sentrx, Transperfect, UBC, Y-Prime). Everyone talked about the importance of accelerating drug discovery while reducing costs and the importance of being innovative. This is why I tried to introduce as many people as I could to one of Life Science Leader's newest editorial advisory board members, Bernard Munos, founder of InnoThink Center for Research in Biomedical Innovation and an expert in pharmaceutical innovation. Another expert in innovation at this show, Dr. Ram Charan, author of The Game Changer, gave a talk on innovation using just three hand drawn slides placed on an overhead projector. Charan explained his reason for going old school saying, "To be innovative does not mean you have to use the latest gadget." I found his presentation to be innovative and different than the others I attended – not simply because of the gadget he selected. Charan was the only speaker who actively engaged the audience by asking questions throughout his talk. Further, he was the only speaker I observed stepping off the stage to walk among attendees as he spoke. I am looking forward to attending next year's show which is planned for the same venue – April 22 to 24, 2013.