Boston to Host the Drug Information Association’s (DIA’s) 44th Annual Meeting

The Drug Information Association (DIA), a global, membership-driven association that serves more than 30,000 professionals who are involved in the lifecycle management of pharmaceuticals and medical products, will host its 44th Annual Meeting at the Boston Convention Center in Boston, Mass., on June 22 to 26, 2008.

Horsham, PA, USA (Vocus) April 23, 2008

The Drug Information Association (DIA), a global, membership-driven association that serves more than 30,000 professionals who are involved in the lifecycle management of pharmaceuticals and medical products, will host its 44th Annual Meeting at the Boston Convention Center in Boston, Mass., on June 22 to 26, 2008.

“Like Boston, the DIA Annual Meeting is rich in history, forward-thinking, and intellectually stimulating,” says Program Chair Jeff Sherman, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Research & Development at IDM Pharma, Inc. “It represents the most significant means for advancing our objectives via our multidisciplinary focus, international reach, and neutral forums.”

With more than 8,000 attendees and 360 sessions, the 2008 Annual Meeting is the signature event for people who work in the pharmaceutical and related industries. The Annual Meeting offers professional cross-functional learning, continuing education credits, and networking opportunities.

As a non-lobbying resource, the DIA provides a forum for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, regulatory and governmental agencies, and academia to come together to address areas of common concern in their quest to develop safe, quality medicines that enhance health and well-being around the world. As a result, the 2008 meeting features relevant hot topic sessions on:

• Adaptive Clinical Designs/Adaptive Methods
• Approval Pathways for Products to Treat Rare Diseases
• Biotechnology
• Clinical and Regulatory Considerations for Personalized Medicines
• Combination Device and Therapeutic Products
• Critical Path Initiative
• Multinational Clinical Trials including Developing Countries
• Patient Recruitment and Retention
• Pediatrics

With a growing international market, global drug development is a key focus in the industry and it will take center stage at the Annual Meeting. This year’s event will include more than 100 sessions on issues affecting key regions of the world.

“DIA needs to continue to grow globally and to better meet its members’ needs in the areas of information exchange, education, and networking opportunities, especially in pharma’s emerging markets,” said Linda McGoldrick, DIA Worldwide Executive Director. “Furthering this globalization initiative, the Annual Meeting will feature more than 50 representatives from academic institutions around the world, more than 100 sessions on topics important to markets like Canada, Japan, Europe, and China, as well as speakers from 15 global regulatory agencies.”

Program highlights
This year’s event includes keynote addresses by Dennis A. Ausiello, MD, Jackson Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Kathy Giusti, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium.

Multi-track Plenary Session
The Impact of FDAAA on Drug Safety
Speakers from US and European regulatory agencies, the Reagan Udall Foundation, PhRMA, and other organizations will discuss their goals and experiences with implementation of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA) and its impact on drug safety.

Clinical Research and IT Megatracks
This year’s program committee has created megatracks in clinical research (CR) and information technology (IT). These megatracks were created to enhance the quality of the presentations and their relevance to the challenges faced by today’s clinical research and information technology professionals, to eliminate overlap of similar session topics in different tracks, and to promote broader discussion and a fuller understanding of the topics presented.

Exhibits
The Annual Meeting provides a forum for attendees and speakers to network and evaluate more than 500 exhibiting companies. The exhibit hall will feature everything from CROs and technology vendors to site research centers and academia.

For information about the meeting, contact Joe Krasowski at 215-293-5812. For questions about exhibits, contact Eileen Roth at 215- 442-6191.

About the Drug Information Association (DIA)
The Drug Information Association serves more than 30,000 professionals in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and regulatory industries worldwide. Through its domestic and international meetings, training courses, workshops and webinars, DIA provides a neutral global forum for the exchange of information critical to the advancement of the drug discovery and lifecycle management processes. Headquartered in Horsham, PA, USA, and with offices in Basel, Switzerland, Tokyo, Japan, and Mumbai, India, the Association is led by its volunteer-based Board of Directors and executive management team. For more information, visit http://www.diahome.org or call 215-442-6100.

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