DIA, the premier professional community for global health care product development, announced today that Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC, Commissioner of Food and Drugs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has been confirmed as a speaker for DIA 2016 on Tuesday, June 28, 2016, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Dr. Califf, along with global regulatory leaders, will address International Regulatory Convergence, one of the most dynamic and important areas in global drug and therapy development.

Bringing regulators together has been a consistent hallmark of the DIA global annual meeting, and Dr. Califf has a long-standing commitment to strengthening programs and policies that enable the FDA to carry out its mission to protect and promote the public health. Dr. Califf will join a panel discussion, International Regulatory Convergence, Collaboration, and Cooperation, from 8:00-9:45 a.m. on June 28. This panel discussion is part of DIA’s premier sessions at DIA 2016, known as DIAmond Sessions.

In this featured DIAmond Session, industry leaders will discuss the latest on bilateral and multilateral initiatives that avoid duplication and increase mutual reliance, their strategic governance, and their impact on industry. Featured panelists for this discussion include:

• Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC, Commissioner of Food and Drugs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Guido Rasi, Executive Director, European Medicines Agency, European Union
• Tatsuya Kondo, Chief Executive, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA)
• Anil Arora, Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada
• Emer Cooke, Head of International Affairs, European Medicines Agency, European Union (Panel chair)

“We are delighted to have FDA Commissioner Robert Califf join the other health authorities in our new DIAmond Sessions,” said Barbara Lopez Kunz, Global Chief Executive Officer, DIA. “His work in the life sciences industry leading up to his appointment as Commissioner of the FDA and beyond will be extremely valuable to the panel discussion on international regulatory convergence. Bringing together regulators is a consistent hallmark of the DIA global annual meeting, and this year’s DIAmond Sessions will facilitate key discussions with the industry’s top leaders.”

As the largest Health Care Product Development event in the world, DIA 2016 is a gathering of global perspectives bringing together a network of more than 7,000 professionals to foster innovation that leads to the development of safe, effective and accessible products and therapies to patients. The program will include more than 175 sessions in 22 tracks on today’s hottest topics ranging from drug development to clinical trial safety. The program will also include a new feature – DIAmond Sessions – which will bring together innovators from industry, academia, patient advocacy and government agencies to discuss today’s priorities.

For live updates, follow DIA on Twitter @DrugInfoAssn; join the conversation using the hashtag #DIA2016. Please click here to view more information about DIA 2016 or visit http://www.diaglobal.org/en/conference-listing/meetings/2016/04/dia-fda-statistics-2016-forum. To learn more about Dr. Califf’s session, click here.