DIA: Driving Insights to Action

Who Determines the Price of Medicines – and How?

Who determines how much society and/or patients should pay for a medicine? And how are those determinations made? Dr. Alberto Grignolo, Deputy Editor for DIA’s Global Forum, discusses these and related questions with Professor Sarah Garner, Associate Director, Science Policy & Research, for the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and a pharmacist with special expertise in the interface between Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and regulation. Professor Garner will participate in a panel discussion on Value-Based Health Care Decision Making: The Quest for Smarter Spending at our DIA 2016 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

“An Urgent Imperative Now to Learn Quickly”: DIA 2016 Co-Chair Dr. Gigi Hirsch

Dr. Gigi Hirsch is the Executive Director of the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation (CBI). As part of her mission to innovate the drug development process, Dr. Hirsch will serve as Co-Chair of the DIA 2016 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, where she will also participate in a panel discussion on Europe and the US: Making Outcomes-Based Health Care Possible. “DIA provides an incredibly powerful platform for engaging globally around some of the most important innovations that are happening in real time and need to continue to evolve,” she explains in this exclusive interview with DIA Global Forum Deputy Editor Dr. Alberto Grignolo.

Industry-Patient Relations: Culture Change or Culture Shock?

Effective engagement between patients and industry, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders, requires organizational cultures that place high priority and focus on patients. As Associate Director, Diversity & Patient Engagement, for Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Mary Stober Murray builds relationships with advocacy organizations, patient communities, and provider communities, to keep them informed, educated, and prepared to support clinical development of BMS compounds. Mary will contribute her voice to the panel discussion on Changing Cultures to Advance Patient Engagement during the DIA2016 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, and shares her experiences in this exclusive interview with DIA Global Forum Deputy Editor Dr. Alberto Grignolo.

Every Journey Begins with a First Step: DIA Patient Engagement

Dr. Yves Juillet, Secretary General of the Academy of Medicine Foundation in France, is one of the persons most responsible for DIA’s first formal steps into patient engagement. For more than two decades, Dr. Juillet has been deeply involved with DIA, serving on the Advisory Council of Europe, the Board of Directors, and as DIA President. In 2013, he was named Honorary President of the French Academy of Pharmacy and was also named a DIA Fellow, the organization’s highest honor. In this exclusive Global Forum interview, Dr. Juillet shares what inspired these first steps and reflects on DIA’s subsequent journey into patient engagement.

“Outbreaks are inevitable. Pandemics are preventable.” – DIA 2016 Keynote Speaker Dr. Larry Brilliant

As Chairman of the Skoll Global Threats Fund, whose mission is to confront pandemics, climate change and other global threats, and co-founder of The Seva Foundation, an international NGO whose programs and grantees have returned sight to more than 3.5 million people in more than 20 countries, Dr. Larry Brilliant is a catalyst for change around the globe.  A United Nations medical officer in India, a key player in the successful World Health Organization (WHO) smallpox eradication program in South Asia, and soon-to-be author (Sometimes Brilliant, October 2016 release), Dr. Brilliant explores how emerging technologies are both facilitating and preventing the spread of pandemics, and previews topics for his DIA 2016 Keynote Address in this exclusive interview with DIA Global Forum Co-Editor for Media, Communications and Social Media Adam Istas (Quintiles).

Growing Irrelevancy of Pre- versus Post-Market Divide for EU Medical Devices

Nanotechnology, mobile medical apps, 3-D printing, and other innovations in medical devices, companion diagnostics, and combination products, plus new Medical Device and In Vitro Diagnostic Device Regulations, are all part of the changing scientific, legislative, and regulatory landscape for Medical Devices in the EU. John Wilkinson, Director of Devices for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), UK, and co-lead for DIA’s 28th EuroMeeting Medical Devices Theme, discusses these and related topics with DIA Global Forum Deputy Editor Dr. Alberto Grignolo.

Crossroads in Europe: Access from a Market and HTA Perspective

The Health Technology Assessments (HTA) Theme of DIA’s 28th Annual EuroMeeting overviewed topics at the crossroads of regulatory, traditional HTA, and payer discussions. In this podcast, Edith Frénoy, Director for Market Access and HTA for the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries & Associations (EFPIA), Belgium, discusses current policies and upcoming issues with DIA Global Forum Deputy Editor Dr. Alberto Grignolo.

A Visionary Takes the Helm at DIA Europe, Middle East & Africa (DIA EMEA)

In February 2016, Dr. Holger Adelmann was appointed Senior Vice President and Managing Director for DIA Europe, Middle East and Africa (DIA EMEA). Dr. Adelmann previously served as the Global Head of Merck Serono’s Clinical Pharmacology and Clinical Biomarker operations, where he re-engineered the Clinical Biomarker and Companion Diagnostics business to better align with the company’s upcoming portfolio. In this podcast from DIA’s flagship offering in Europe, our 28th Annual EuroMeeting, Holger and DIA Global Forum Deputy Editor Dr. Alberto Grignolo discuss the progress and promise of DIA EMEA.

Steps to Meet the “Big Quality” Challenge of “Big Data”

The increasing volume of data collected and the corresponding analytical and logistical challenges around it are hot topics throughout the global clinical research enterprise, including our recent 28th Annual EuroMeeting. In this podcast, Detlef Nehrdich, Senior Associate for Waife and Associates in Germany, and co-lead of the EuroMeeting Theme on eHealth and Big Data, discusses the current and potential value of big data and eHealth with DIA Global Forum Deputy Editor Dr. Alberto Grignolo. 

Innovation: Can it Span the “Efficacy versus Effectiveness Gap”?

Innovation is not enough: Translating life science innovations into tangible patient benefits requires corresponding innovation in the tools and methodologies that inform regulatory, reimbursement and clinical decisions about patient access and treatment. In this podcast, Dr. Hans-George Eichler, Senior Medical Officer for the European Medicines Agency, discusses innovation and related topics with DIA Global Forum Deputy Editor Dr. Alberto Grignolo.