Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend DIA 2016 at the Philadelphia Convention Center. As the largest global interdisciplinary event that brings together key thought leaders and innovators from industry, academia, regulatory and government agencies, health, patient and philanthropic organizations, the conference provided a wealth of insight into the current and future state of all disciplines involved in the discovery, development and life cycle management of healthcare products.
Here’s a recap of my top eight takeaways from the conference:
- Keynote address stresses importance of global perspectives
The opening plenary lead by Dr. Larry Brilliant, Chairman of the Skoll Global Threats Fund and Barbara Lopez Kunz, Global Chief Executive of DIA, stressed the importance of this year’s conference theme: global perspectives. “The nature of the challenge is global, and transcends national boundaries. Our response, if it is to be effective, must be correspondingly global, drawing on ideas, experiences and – yes, perspectives – from around the world,” said Lopez.
- To maximize product value: begin with the end in mind
Session “Maximize the Value of Your Product by Beginning with the End” discussed the high stakes game of drug development and the slim success rates drugs in development experience. Often drugs are denied for a variety of reasons, however to avoid costly setbacks, keep the end in mind and create a target product profile (TPP), which focuses on the future and, ultimately, centers on the view of the payers, focusing on present and prior knowledge of payers and patients as customers.
- Bracket introduced new eCOA platform
Bracket, a leading clinical trial technology and specialty services provider, launched its next generation clinical outcomes platform – the first electronic clinical outcome assessment product of its kind to fully integrate with RTSM. Bracket eCOASM 6.0 is a flexible platform for electronic clinical outcomes assessments that is driving digitization in clinical trials. The platform integrates with industry-leading Samsung Galaxy smartphones and Microsoft’s Surface Pro Windows tablets to support ePro, eClinRO, and eObsRO, and features fully integrated clinician and patient-facing tools, to ensure the experience is fully harmonized for any user.
- Veeva TMF survey reveals industry change
Veeva Systems released the results of their 2016 Paperless TMF Survey at the 2016 DIA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. The study reveals that change is underway as the industry shifts from passive to active TMF management and adopts advanced electronic TMF applications.
- FDA foresees digital health linking to better health outcomes
Mobile health is rapidly growing worldwide and in the session “How Can We Utilize Mobile Health for Better Quality of Life and Medical Economy” we learned how mHealth has already made an impact on the FDA, pharmaceutical industry and medical universities. FDA is in the process of developing diagnostic evaluations for mobile devices to align with medical device regulations, as it foresees that digital health linking to better health outcomes, higher patient engagement and a paradigm shift from disease treatment to disease prevention.
- DrugDev launches CRO program with INC research
DrugDev launched its CRO Preferred Partner program alongside Charter Member INC Research. Sponsors will be offered use of DrugDevs Golden Number, used to match and master data from disparate sources, and the new DrugDev patient engagement solution, which enables sites to send information, documents and notifications to patients via SMS.
- The folks at DIA know how to party
Rich with information and ripe with progression, DIA is certainly the place for any individual in the healthcare realm – and surprisingly, for anyone who appreciates a good post-conference party and a stiff cocktail. After the long, information-packed days inside the Convention Center, I visited a rooftop party hosted by Bracket, a leading clinical trial technology and specialty services provider, that will soon launch its next generation clinical outcomes platform. Dozens of other late night parties commenced, including a highly-attended event by WCG Clinical, the world’s largest provider of regulatory and ethical review services for clinical research, at the Franklin Institute.
- Clinical research is investing in marketing
The quality and amount of investment by companies and organizations exhibiting at the DIA tradeshow is increasing and obvious. This includes pre-show marketing to drive traffic, booths, sponsorships, program ads, giveaways and post-show follow-up. A tradeshow booth dealer/distributor, Sagefrog is the only local marketing agency that specializes in integrated marketing services for Clinical Research including branding, digital, public relations and social media and traditional.
For more highlights, visit DIA Global, Applied Clinical Trials DIA News or Twitter using hashtag #DIA2016.
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