Honorary Chairs, Dr. Julie Gerberding and Dr. Tatsuya Kondo, and Keynote Speaker, Dr. Nora Volkow set the tone for action at the life sciences ecosystem’s largest, longest-running meeting June 24-28 in Boston

DIA, (founded as the Drug Information Association), announced its Honorary Chairs Dr. Julie Gerberding and Dr. Tatsuya Kondo, keynote speaker Dr. Nora Volkow, DIAmond sessions, and more than 250 sessions across 12 tracks at the DIA 2018 Global Annual Meeting, June 24-28 in Boston, MA.

The DIA 2018 Global Annual Meeting will bring thousands of leaders and innovators from regulatory agencies, biopharma and medical device companies, payers, academia, and patient organizations to Boston to connect key policy discussions to real-world knowledge. Attendees will engage with key stakeholders, global decision-makers, and known influencers in biotechnology from over 50 countries to drive innovation from the lab to patients. In addition, over 450 exhibitors will show off their latest products and services for the life sciences ecosystem.

Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPh, Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Officer, Strategic Communications, Global Public Policy, and Population Health, Merck & Co., Inc and Tatsuya Kondo, PhD, MD, Chief Executive, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), Japan, will serve as the DIA 2018 Global Annual Meeting Honorary Chairs. On DIA’s exclusive podcast, Dr. Gerberding highlighted that the DIA Global Annual Meeting is “the place to be if you’re interested in a broad range of issues that relate to patient engagement, pharmaceutical clinical trial development, and a whole host of issues of interest to patients, industry, payers, and providers. It’s a wonderful network of the key opinion leaders – the smartest people and, I think, the most passionate people in this sector.”

Of critical importance to driving innovation from the lab to the patient is understanding regulatory pathways, challenges, and opportunities. At DIA 2018, hundreds of regulatory leaders from around the world, including from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), Health Canada, and many more will chair sessions, speak, and engage with industry, patient, and academic stakeholders.

In the keynote address, Nora D. Volkow, MD, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), NIH, will discuss her vision for therapeutics and devices in pain modulation that reduce opioid addiction, and the potential roles of industry and government in addressing challenges. In her podcast with DIA, she stresses: “In order for us to be successful in our mission, which is to bring the power of knowledge into solutions for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders, for us to succeed, we have to partner with multiple institutions - being able to bring that knowledge into practice requires collaboration.”

With DIAmond, plenary, and more than 250 education sessions, the DIA 2018 program fosters collaboration via themed tracks with scientific sessions focused in today’s hottest topics ranging from artificial intelligence, precision medicine, clinical operations, patient engagement, research and development, regulatory, and value and access.

“With the shifting political climate around the world, continuous rise in patient involvement, advancement in technology solutions and regulatory challenges, the life sciences ecosystem is facing a wide array of obstacles,“ said Barbara Lopez Kunz Global Chief Executive, DIA. “It’s imperative for all stakeholders in the life sciences to openly engage in these conversations and discuss these obstacles and find ways to overcome and take action to continue positive, forward motion within the industry.”

To learn more and register for DIA 2018 visit, DIAglobal.org/DIA2018. For live updates, attendees and the public should follow and join the conversation on Twitter, @DrugInfoAssn, using the hashtag #DIA2018.