As you may have expected, CBI’s Pharmaceutical Compliance Congress is going virtual in 2020. Whether presented live or online, the conference remains one of the few opportunities for those in life science compliance to interact with their peers and learn tips, suggestions, and best practices from industry leaders and government representatives. Live panels and on-demand presentations spread across the agenda represent a wide variety of the topics important to anyone striving to build and maintain a strong and effective compliance program and ethical culture. Here are a few of the presentations I am particularly looking forward to.
On-Demand Presentations
To provide an extensive range of content, organizers have made some sessions available on demand. Or, as they say it on the website, “on-demand content is available anytime, to accommodate your needs and schedule.”
On-demand titles range from Strategies for Field Team Compliance, to Best Practices Around the World for Global Compliance Management, and Hub and Specialty Pharmacy Contract Oversight and Risk Assessment, to name just a few. Make sure you watch the State-of-the-Art Compliance Training panel discussion being hosted by my colleague from PharmaCertify, Dan O’Connor. Dan will be joined by Alex Ganz of Akebia Therapeutics, Jeffrey Hagy of Regeneron, and Erica Powers of Sage Therapeutics for a deep dive into practical and innovative training approaches that you can apply immediately. I’ve seen the notes on this one, trust me, you don’t want to miss it. The full list of on-demand sessions is on the conference website homepage: https://informaconnect.com/pcc/.
Day 1: Monday August 10
After opening remarks and the video review of the year in compliance, James Stansel, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of PhRMA, will present the organization’s annual address, Healthcare Policy Update – Current State of Regulatory Reform Driving Innovation and Access. Then Gary Cantrell, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at OIG, will deliver the annual OIG/HHS Update.
The panel presentation from the U.S. Attorneys’ offices typically offers a revealing look into the trends and topics currently in focus for the government. This year, Enforcement Docket Deep Dive – Analysis of Recent CIAs and Settlement Trends features representatives from offices around the country, including New Jersey, Southern New York, Nevada, and Massachusetts. Expect patient assistance programs to be at or near the top of the list this year – and, on this note, PharmaCertify will soon offer a new eLearning module covering patient programs. Send me a note if you’d like to preview the content outline.
From 3:00 pm to 3:45 pm, participants choose between two live Q&A sessions, Boot Camp Q&A, with Perri Pomper from Clinical Genomics, Ed Sleeper from Esperion, and Daniel Kracov and Mahnu Davar, both of Arnold & Porter; and Primer Q&A with Rahul Khara of Acceleron Pharma, and Seth Lundy from King & Spalding.
The Opening Night Networking Happy Hour follows the Q&A sessions, and when I preview the live conferences, this is where I typically suggest attendees not miss this great opportunity to interact with peers in one-to-one conversations. There is no reason to believe the virtual networking won’t be as valuable, as attendees and presenters clearly look forward to these rare chances to exchange experiences “face-to-face.” My colleagues and I will be there!
Day 2: Tuesday August 11
The opening session on Day 2 is compelling for its title, When Drug Research is Personal: Fireside Chat with Amicus Therapeutics’ CEO and CRO on the Criticality of Compliance in Advancing Lifesaving Therapies. For those of us who work in compliance training, making that training more meaningful to the individual learner is one of our persistent goals. If our clients can communicate the importance of the training to the careers of the learners, and the lives of the patients, learning is enhanced. I am looking forward to hearing John Crowley and Patrik Florencio describe how the “criticality of compliance in advancing lifesaving therapies” is put into practice at Amicus Therapeutics.
Scanning the agenda for the rest of Day 2, anytime the words “digital revolution” appear in a session title, I am intrigued. So, I will be curious to hear Chad Morin of bluebird bio. and Brian Berry of Vertex Pharmaceuticals describe that revolution in the Patient Centricity and Compliance in the Digital Revolution session.
From 3:00 pm to 3:45 pm, attendees choose from one of four hot topic roundtables. The roundtables are diverse and compelling, depending on your objectives. As always, I recommend dividing with colleagues, or even sharing notes with a new friend you meet in the networking session, to conquer and gather as much information as possible.
Two of the roundtables jump off the screen for me. The word “checklist” in any title always catches my eye. Calling All Emerging Biotechs – Pre-commercial Compliance Considerations and Checklist with Tiago Garrido of Verastem Oncology, Rupa Cornell of Takeda, and Trish Dring of MacroGenics looks to be an interesting primer for anyone in the unique position of preparing a product launch. And, since our training is so often targeted to field teams and the risks they encounter in interactions with HCPs, the Strategies for Field Team Compliance, with Erica Powers of Sage Therapeutics, Patrick Mooty of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma America, and Julianne Brierley of Novartis will be on my list.
Day 3, Wednesday August 12
Wednesday’s agenda begins with the CCO Showcase: Cutting-Edge and Proactive Models Driving Compliance and Transcending Silos Across the Business. Kudos to conference organizers for scheduling such an impressive lineup of chief compliance officers: Daryl Kreml from Sage Therapeutics, Beth Levine from Regeneron, Jill Macaluso from Novo Nordisk, Bryant Aaron from Novartis, Tina Beamon from Karyopharm Therapeutics, and Joshua Marks from Boehringer Ingelheim. Dedicating time for follow up Q&A after the presentation is a great idea since the interaction with the audience usually offers some of the most interesting exchanges of ideas.
Following the DOJ and SEC Insights session from 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm (e.g., the U.S Attorneys session is always worthwhile) attendees are encouraged to participate in “peer-to-peer networking time.” Each attendee will have his or her own virtual meeting room for what is described as a “streamlined networking opportunity.” It’s another attempt by organizers to provide for personal interaction, and regardless of the outcome, they should be applauded for the effort. Think speed dating without the detail about long walks on the beach and pina coladas.
Day 3 closes with additional roundtable discussions intended to foster small group discussions. Rather than dedicate Wednesday’s roundtables to specific topics, I have been informed the focus will be on “thoughts from the day and conference so far.” I like it!
Day 4, Thursday August 13
Thursday’s agenda kicks off with what should be a worthwhile discussion about navigating the sea of life sciences compliance challenges in the crazy year that is 2020 with a session titled, A Look at How In-House Legal and Compliance Departments are Evolving in 2020 to Help Address Business Challenges. John Oroho from Porzio will moderate the panel joined by Tara D’Orsi of Kyowa Kirin, Michael Clarke of ConvaTec, and Michael Hercz of Sentynl Therapeutics.
Following a late morning session focused on emerging risk areas from industry advisors (hey, how come I wasn’t invited?!) and a lunch break, the day continues with a Small Group Interaction Hosted by Track Presenters, then into the series of live hot topic roundtables from 3:45 pm to 4:30 pm.
Two roundtables stand out for me based on the hot topics in compliance training: Speaker Programs – Current Enforcement Trends, Best Practice Benchmarks and Future Fate with Peter Agnoletto from Sanofi, John Knighton from TherapeuticsMD, Jennifer DeVincenzo of Sobi, and Charlene Davis of Aerie Pharmaceuticals; and Zero-In on Compliant Patient Interactions, with Terra Buckley of Mesoblast, Rahul Khara of Acceleron Pharma, Laurie Durousseau of Rigel Pharmaceuticla, and Christie Camelio from TG Therapeutics.
Day 4, Thursday August 13
The conference closes with two sessions sure to draw a large audience of attendees. First up is, Anti-Kickback Accusations and the Aftermath — An Inside Look at Sales and Marketing Practices Under Fire with Jonathan Roper, a former district sales manager for Insys Therapeutics. The Insys case obviously holds a deep cauldron of lessons learned in every aspect of compliance, and its impact continues to reverberate across the industry.
Finally, conference organizers could not have picked a better session to close with than Empowerment, Diversity and Inclusion. Sujata Dayal of Medline Industries, Jim Massey, formerly of AstraZeneca, Maggie Feltz of Purdue Pharma, and Veleka Peeples-Dyer from Baker & McKenzie LLP will delve into what is certainly a timely and important topic in today’s world.
See You at the Conference
The logistics involved in the transition to a virtual conference must be daunting. CBI, Informa Connect, and all the speakers, are to be congratulated on their efforts and dedication to bringing so much critical content to the agenda. It looks to be a fantastic five days of learning and I hope this information provides you with more context on some key topics that caught my interest.
If you’re attending the conference, I hope to see you in the virtual PharmaCertify booth, where you can learn more about our training products and services and share thoughts about the conference. If you have not yet registered, we still have $500 sponsor discount registration certificates available. Contact us at info@pharmacertify.com to take advantage of this opportunity to join us.
Thanks for reading. I will see you online at the conference!
Sean Murphy
Product & Marketing Manager
PharmaCertify by NXLevel Solutions