Amsterdam, 02 September 2020: CPhI Festival of Pharma (5-16 October, 2020), the world’s largest ever virtual pharma expo, unveils its ground-breaking two-week long agenda. The newly launched and rapidly created virtual event will provide the global pharma community with a vital platform to meet and exchange ideas – at a time when the industry is still adapting to remote ways of working.
The CPhI Festival of Pharma will see global industry heavyweights join forces with more than 20,000 attendees, in what will be a first of its kind virtual pharma gathering designed to meet the needs of the industry in 2021 and beyond.
Amongst more than 50 different content sessions, Dr. Scott Gottlieb – Former FDA Commissioner – will use his keynote platform to implore the industry on continuing its efforts towards combining record innovation with affordable healthcare. His seminal talk will explore how the industry can use this moment to implement more sustainable models, increased patient access, and look ahead at how alternative payment models will improve future healthcare delivery.
In another landmark address, Adrian van den Hoven, Director General, Medicines for Europe will explore the very timely question of how lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the commission’s new strategy for pharmaceutical policy. Outcomes from which will shape the direction of policy decisions in an ongoing update of pharmaceutical legislation, and therefore, opportunities and challenges ahead for manufacturers operating both within and outside Europe.
Speaking on the aims of Festival of Pharma, Tara Dougal, head of content at CPhI Festival of Pharma, added: “It’s vital in this moment that we empower global pharma with insights and learning in a rapidly evolving global landscape. But of course, global travel restrictions have limited in-person events, so the need for a virtual platform with a holistic perspective has never been greater. To realise our aspirations, we are running the event across two weeks so that we can cover everything from drug discovery and APIs, through to pricing, vaccine development and future technologies like 3D-printed dosages, AI and cell and gene therapies. The great strength of CPhI is that we truly bring everyone together and our content reflects this”.
Gil Roth, another industry pioneer as the founder of the PBOA, will apply his forward-looking perspectives in a keynote on ‘the future of drug manufacturing’. This session will address the current outlook for the CDMO sector, geopolitics and onshoring as well as the lasting legacy COVID may have on pharma supply chains, clinical trials and inspections.
One of the most recent supply side contingencies government and industry has sought to mitigate against is a reliance on international API sources. In a panel discussion, experts will explore what the future of API production will look like, and how the duality of a growing domestic industry will play out against macro changes for hybrid international sourcing models.
Another key issue in a post-COVID working environment is how companies can maintain productivity in remote settings, while continuing to ensure the welfare of their workforces. CPhI is aiming to lead pharma industry efforts and will run a series of ground-breaking sessions entitled Wellbeing at Work covering everything from ‘anxiety’ and ‘brain training’ to getting ‘better sleep’, ‘resilience at work’ and ‘training managers in a digital era’.
Microsoft’s National Director US Life Sciences Industry, Dave Meyers, will present his keynote vision on new collaborations between tech and pharma. Cross-sector collaborations will bring about vast improvements in patient engagement and real-world value, with new immersive patient experiences, personalised communications and real-time care.
“We have designed the content to be incredibly varied and will feature a range of formats from webinars, panel discussions, and podcasts to traditional media interviews, White Papers and unique market insights. The latter will run in the second week and mirror our traditional World of Pharma podiums with market data on India, Japan and the United States,” added Dougal.
The Festival will also include a dedicated Women in Leadership Forum – featuring talks by female CEOs of pharma innovators – and a patient centricity session led by a patient advocacy group. Recognising the industry’s stellar efforts to rapidly develop new solutions in response to COVID-19, there will be a Special COVID Innovation Award. Finally, the eagerly anticipated and hotly contested CPhI Pharma Awards will return with a dedicated virtual ceremony, but this year will also include a live webinar for finalists to pitch details of their entries and innovations. Winners will be unveiled across 15 categories covering every aspect of the pharmaceutical industry and supply chain.
Register here for Festival of pharma (including 50% off with Early bird discount if completed by September 06th) and to hear a detailed review of session please listen to our content preview podcast with Tara Dougal.