Collaboration, innovation to take center stage at DIA 2022

After gathering attendees in the digital realm, thanks to the pandemic, the DIA Global Annual Meeting (taking place June 19-23) is reconvening in the real world—namely, the city of Chicago. To learn what this year’s event has in store, Outsourcing-Pharma checked in with Courtney Granville, global associate director of research with DIA.

OSP: DIA 2022 is taking place in the real world this year. Please tell us why organizers decided to bring it back to a face-to-face event this time around.​

CG: DIA members cannot wait to be back in person to celebrate our successes and collaborate on future innovations. Opportunities to learn, connect and collaborate are offered in the face-to-face setting.

The DIA 2022 Global Annual Meeting offers a unique engagement experience that is designed to foster interactions that connect you to new opportunities, the latest innovations, and life-long relationships. The networking, debate, and discussions that take place at a live event are just not the same in a virtual environment. DIA is thrilled to offer our attendees the chance at the creativity and problem-solving that comes when we are together. The exhibit hall helps attendees stay up to date on the latest innovations, and is a place for networking and thought leadership. Through the innovation theaters, community round tables, and fun ways to network between sessions – it’s a can’t-miss stop during the conference.

OSP: Could you please give us an idea of what the key/central themes of the show might be?​

CG: The central theme for the meeting is Innovation through Collaboration​. We have seen an unprecedented rate of adoption of innovation over the last two years. Now we must sustain it across the entire spectrum.

Institutionalizing new technologies, approaches, and ways of thinking requires us to work together in new ways. DIA offers a neutral forum for global, multidisciplinary conversation that helps ignite collaboration. 

OSP: Could you please share what you feel are session highlights and Can't-miss events of the 2022 agenda?​

CG: DIA is proud to announce our honorary co-chairs for this year’s 2022 GAM.​ They are Robert Califf, FDA Commissioner; and Stephanie Crawford, Executive Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Strategic Initiatives and Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes, and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy.

An exciting opening DIAmond plenary session covering the topic, “The Future of Healthcare.” As we emerge from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the importance of inspiration and seeing a future where all people have access to lifesaving interventions has never been greater, and DIA aims to highlight some of the most forward-looking and positive views of what the future of healthcare will be. This year’s format will be presented as a series of perspectives representing the diversity of thinking, topic, and geography in a Ted Talk-like format, including:

• The Future of Healthcare is Centered on the Individual Patient.
• The Future of Healthcare is Inclusive.
• The Future of Healthcare is Global.
• The Future of Healthcare is Digital.

DIAmond sessions are designed to engage participants in conversations on today’s priorities:

• FDA Town Hall which I will be moderating will include insights from CDER, CBER, and OCE Directors
• FDA/EMA Q&A time
• A multistakeholder panel focused on collaboration and transformation, moderated by DIA’s Global Chief Executive, Barbara Lopez Kunz
• A panel on the use of real-world data to address diversity gaps

OSP: Outside of the sessions, do you have any social or networking events you’d like to tell DIA attendees about?​

CG: Yes, they are:

• June 13 – 17 Short Courses, Virtual only​
• Monday, June 20 | 6:30 am CST | CISCRP Medical Heroes Appreciation 5K
• Monday, June 20 | 5-6 pm CST in Exhibit Hall | DIA Welcome Reception
• Monday, June 20 | 6-10 pm CST, DIA Inspire Awards 2022 (there is limited capacity; for further information contact Isabel Milan​ or Heej Ko​)
• Monday, June 20 | 7:10 pm CST | Chicago White Sox vs. the Toronto Blue Jays Location: Guaranteed Rate Field
• Community Zone in Exhibit Hall - dedicated space for DIA members to meet up and collaborate with fellow members.
• Patient programming
• Student programming

OSP: What advice might you have for first-time attendees?​

CG. Make a schedule - Download the DIA 2022 meeting app to create agenda with personal sessions, bookmark speakers/sessions/exhibitors, and share DIA2022 experiences. Network as much as possible. Visit the exhibit floor for giveaways and additional thought leadership. Come by the DIA Booth to meet the organization and for help, anytime!

OSP: Do you have anything you’d like to add?​

CG: Our community comes together to share learnings so that all participants in medical product development are operating with state-of-the-art thinking. The trends that were uncovered during the pandemic will inform key conversations that our sessions will ignite:

• Sustaining innovation during the pandemic
• Global harmonization, collaboration, and cooperation
• Regulatory flexibility
• Utilization of real-world data and real-world evidence during the pandemic and beyond
• Challenges in the recruitment of diverse populations in clinical trials (covid-19 vaccine trials best practices and lessons learned)
• Remote monitoring of clinical trials
• Expanded integration of digital and remote approaches
• Decentralized clinical trials
• Importance of patient engagement
• Supply chain challenges

The DIA Global Annual Meeting is scheduled June 19-23 in Chicago. ​Read here for more information or to register for the event.​​