1.  What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

A fuller understanding of the impact of COVID-19, including the strategic economic cost on Pharma and while some disruption of clinical trials was always inevitable, I would like attendees to finish the webinar with a deeper appreciation of why the disruption caused by the pandemic was worse than it needed to have been. Attendees will learn COVID-19 exposed the shortcomings of most technologies and processes currently used to conduct clinical trials and that this painful lesson cannot be wasted! There are real alternatives available today that can deliver much greater resilience and minimise future uncertainty. It is already well known that clinical trials are inefficient and too expensive. The webinar will also explain how this can be addressed as part of a much-needed modernisation.  As many others have commented, clinical trials will never be the same again and however long this pandemic will last, it would be crazy not to sweep out the old and bring in the new. The future has arrived.

 

2. What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

We consulted with many individuals and sponsors to gain an understanding of their perspective, which we will share during the webinar, but we are also keen to have attendee participation.  We will be asking some questions of attendees, some thought provoking, and we will anonymously summarize and share responses received.

 

3. What do you enjoy most about your role?

As CEO I often quip, I am “jack of all trades and master of none”. Joking aside, I like the breadth and variety of my role. No day is ever the same and the challenges and opportunities change over time! I am passionate and care about what we do, within Cmed and our industry.  We do make a difference, helping to improve and save lives, and I enjoy contributing.

 

4. How did you get into the industry?

My mother was a nurse and my father was in the Royal Navy. I have therefore had an interest in medicine and warships ever since I was a small boy! The loss of my older brother to cancer steered me in the direction of clinical science and clinical trials.  After a BSc and a PhD, attracted by the thought of a company car (!) I started as a CRA at Astra Pharmaceuticals, and the rest is history.

 

5. Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

With the current lockdown I should probably say home…!  Actually, it is small Spanish Island where I am lucky enough to own a villa overlooking a beautiful sandy bay with a turquoise coloured sea. I am not saying more than that as I don’t want to it to become too crowded! The people are friendly, have more time for each other and it seems a less hurried pace of life. Plus of course, it is by the sea.

Click Here for a link to the webinar: https://bit.ly/2BMof1h

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Paul Kippax – Sector Director at Malvern Panalytical

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

I hope that those who come along to our webinar will quickly gain an understanding of what the combined forces of Malvern Panalytical and Concept Life Sciences have created in Amplify Analytics, and how our partnership can support them in developing new pharmaceutical products more simply, quickly and cost-effectively. We are highly skilled in the targeted application of materials science to aid prediction of both formulation and processing success, and are excited about sharing this opportunity with our existing and potential customers.

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

I am particularly looking forward to sharing our in-depth knowledge of the relevance of materials science within the pharmaceutical industry and illustrating how Amplify Analytics enables the effective application of this knowledge to enable and accelerate our customers’ product development programs. Products and services from both Malvern Panalytical and Concept Life Sciences are already widely used within the industry, but we know that there is far more we can do to assist our customers in gaining insight from the data they generate. I am really looking forward to starting those discussions with attendees and introducing them to the possibilities we are creating.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Since joining Malvern Panalytical 23 years ago, I have always been interested in (and often amazed by) what our customers can achieve using the analytical techniques we provide. I love the fact that my job gives me the opportunity to help customers understand how to develop and manufacture life-saving and life-improving medicines more effectively and safely. I also enjoy exploring the scientific links which exist between diverse applications; for example, realizing just how much tablet formulation and cement manufacture have in common – from a particle science point of view, that is!

How did you get into the industry?

My undergraduate degree was in Chemistry. I quickly realized that I was not much of an organic chemist, although that was the most successful department for industry engagement, so I instead decided to do a PhD in Physical Chemistry. This introduced me to the requirements for designing and applying analytical instruments to understand what happens to particulate systems during formulation and processing. Following my PhD, I moved to work at Malvern Panalytical, having used their systems in my research. The rest, as they say, is history!

Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

I love the Lake District in the UK – it is my spiritual home. I love its wilderness beauty and I have spent many happy hours hiking over the fell tops with my family, as I plod my way towards the goal of summiting all 214 fell tops. I’ve already conquered around 130 of them, so my target is hopefully within my reach!

Join Dr. Paul Kippax on a webinar entitled Amplify Analytics: Integrating chemistry and physicochemical analysis for rapid pharmaceutical development by Malvern Panalytical on 25th June at 3:30PM London/10:30AM New York

Jaime Laguna is the Global Practice Segment Leader for Oil & Gas and Mining in Nokia. He has been working for Nokia 19 years, most of them dedicated into the Energy Segment. Before coming to the US, as Global Oil & Gas and Mining resource, he was Business Development Manager for South East Asia and later Asia Pacific region in the Energy segment, supporting Mining and Oil & Gas markets. Originally from Mexico, back in 2001, he was the Key Account Manager for Strategic Industries division, working directly with local and international EPC’s and Mexico’s Oil State Company.

Main activities and projects are related to the development of Wireless Technologies, Telecom Packages for open pit and underground mines, offshore platforms, refineries and LNG Plants were Mission Critical Networks are required looking also into the development and interoperability of applications.

Jaime has a bachelor’s degree in Science in Electronic and Communications Engineering, with a Post Grade in Finance.

1. What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

A-JLR: Attendees will get a clear message about how LTE technology has become a prevalent wireless technology that enable multiple services at the operation of the mine being AHS a critical service that has been validated and is providing significant advantages compared to other technologies and the natural evolution into 5G that will look into future proof deployments.

2. What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

A-JLR: Solve doubts about how a mature wireless technology like LTE can be deployed and bring broadband mobility to increase safety and productivity by connecting staff and assets.

3. What do you enjoy most about your role?

A-JLR: Being able to be in front of mining professionals and discuss about their strategic initiatives and adaptation strategies to use technology that can help their operations and increase safety.

4. How did you get into the industry?

A-JLR: Since the year 2000, I have been working in telecommunications applied for natural resources companies (oil & gas) to support mission critical control networks, starting 2013 the mining activity started to get momentum due to digitalization initiatives and by the proliferation of wireless networks for critical services.

5. Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

A-JLR: I love to be in the outdoors with my family, nature is a wonderful place to have fun and also to learn about simple things but very important. My daughters have a fascination for rocks, maybe they have some mining genes.

Join Jaime Laguna Ramirez on a webinar entitled Making Autonomous Haulage Systems a reality by Nokia on 23rd June at 4PM London/11AM New York.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speakers Photos: Juan Aguirre, Carl Weldon, Paul Nisbett, Dale Nix & Bryan Hammer

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

Juan – After several exuberant years we expect that the current disruption will accelerate certain changes at multiple levels. Whether from the way buildings are designed, an increased desire for modularity and flexibility, sustainability concerns through to technology and data scalability and possibly a different global working and travel environment, we hope our attendees will come out of the webinar with their own take on where the industry is heading.

Carl – A view of what is or may be possible for Hotels and Technology –  that they have perhaps not considered previously…

Paul – Hopefully, they will think about how everything has changed, what will tomorrow look like and how we have to adapt to technology and social distancing.

Dale – At least one or two areas in which Hospitality as a sector must change or adapt in order to overcome the current crisis and prepare for the next.

Bryan –  Insight and ideas how different companies have not only reacted, but also been proactive in dealing with the current crisis.

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

Juan – Most importantly their thoughts on the evolution of the industry. We may very well see a change in working and travelling behaviours with greater home working, less urban concentrations. Do our attendees see this as a challenge or an opportunity

Carl – The varying angles of today’s Hotel Models and types – and the influence that technology can have on these.

Paul – How do they see brands introducing technology that helps cost mitigation and not just marketing tools

Dale – How will travel as an industry recover? What if it doesn’t recover in the short term? Will the COVID-19 crisis be the proving ground for some technologies (video conferencing, particularly) to finally supplant face-to-face meetings? What impact will social distancing have on group travel and can webinars and virtual conferencing replace real-world/physical conferences?

Bryan – Interesting ways worker behaviours will change (or already have changed) in the long term as remote work is adopted at scale, and ways IT has been put in the spotlight to enable a global remote workforce.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Juan – I have a privileged role delivering converged technology solutions that extend across the lifetime of a property- from the core infrastructure of the building through to active network components as well as data solutions. So whilst I enjoy the convergence of the technology more importantly I enjoy the convergence of the people that make up this industry and in particular their passion and dedication.

Carl – The varied people from all across Europe that I meet – both hoteliers with different challenges and Vendors to the industry with differing and amazing Technologies to sell – all providing a really interesting mix of debate and opinions – and it is always very entertaining when we get the all together at a HITEC.

Paul – Being a part of the development of Valor as a Hotel Management company and continually challenging the way we do everything to drive efficiency’s.

Dale – Being able to work closely with our wide range of clients to see how each take their core operational or “utility” systems and use them in varying ways to create USPs.

Bryan – Working in a perfectly sized company with amazing products in fantastic locations, a great team to support me and the freedom to really drive IT strategy. The travel is not bad either!

How did you get into the industry?

Juan – By accident! I was recruited over 16 years as a product manager for a hospitality integrator after a start-up I was working for ran into difficulties. At the time I thought it would be short term till I found a “real” job. Since then it appears that I have checked into hospitality and will never check out!

Carl – I was born in a Hotel so not much choice. My parents ran hotels so I grew up in them – it is in my blood. I started actually working as a Hotel Porter (Concierge) at age 14. I was a Hotel (304 Rooms) FC at 22.

Paul – Straight from school, studied Hotel management and then joined Forte as a graduate.

Dale – I started in airlines but my desire to live and work in the UK pushed me into Hotels, for at that point in time, my employer rescinded their expat programmes. In 1993 I joined Forte Hotels in Boston for 18 months and subsequently transferred to New York before finally making it over the pond to London; and I haven’t looked back!

Bryan – In 2000 I took a job as IT Manager for the Westin Resort on St John in the US Virgin Islands. It wasn’t so much to get into hospitality, it was rather a way for me to experience living on a small tropical island living the beach life, which lasted 7 years and took me all over the Caribbean and introduced me to my wife.

Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

Juan – There are many and choosing a particular one would do an injustice to the many amazing places I have been to. A favourite place is often determined by the place itself and the people that make up that place. However I would say my heart sways between the small quiet villages and mountain roads behind Nice France and the Andalucia region of Spain with stunning scenery and rich history.

Carl – Anywhere along the Maine Coast in the USA. The views, the seafood, the harbours, the fresh sea air, the ‘quaintness’.

Paul – St Maarten, have an amazing time with the family there when they were really young.

Dale – It often changes, but right now, it would be the Turquoise Coast of Turkey. I have a home in Fethiye and would have been there the first two weeks of April, but for the COVID-19 pandemic; I am having withdrawal symptoms from the sun, beach, food and views.

Bryan – Les Contamines Montjoie, France. In the summer it’s a great place to access the trails of Mt Blanc for running and hiking, and in the winter for skiing.

Join Juan, Carl, Paul, Dale & Bryan on a webinar entitled Facing rapid change: Survival of the fittest? by Commscope on 14th May at 3PM London / 10AM New York.

Kieran Coffey – Technical Services Lead, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Newbridge

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

I hope that the attendees will come away with some new options for solving their oral solid dose challenges. So much can be done with coating and the controls needed are not as complicated as people may think. A little math can achieve a lot!

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

I am looking forward to sharing what we have achieved over the years and then using that as a starting point for a discussion on what could be achieved. I think everyone will come away learning something new, especially if attendees engage with their ideas and opportunities.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I love that every day I am still learning. Working on complex formulations means that there is no day where I can know exactly what to expect. My role gives me the opportunity to help come up with better ways to make life-saving medicine, which is challenging but very enjoyable.

How did you get into the industry?

My undergrad degree was in analytical science and despite visions of joining a Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) team in some exciting location, I instead was lucky enough to get a graduate role that rotated into several areas of pharma production. I fell in love with process development and went back to university for a postgrad in Chemical Engineering. I have worked in development, scale-up and tech transfer since then.

Amy Trotch – Senior Manager, North America Contract Manufacturing Drug Product Sales, Pfizer CentreOne

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

I hope attendees will gain a deep appreciation for the technologies and solutions that are available to enhance their oral dosage product and scale-up to commercial manufacturing. I also hope they gain insight into the fact that most challenges, even with complex formulations, have easier resolutions than we tend to think.

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

I look forward to learning how we can help find solutions for others – this can be for coating or for our general insight on scaling-up complex oral dosage products for commercial manufacturing. I hope attendees will freely ask questions and share their own challenges and successes with the larger audience – there’s power in sharing your story and we’re all in this together.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I thrive on human connection and diversity and I am blessed with the opportunity in my role to get to know others in the industry on a global scale. Where this is particularly important to me, is that I learn what others’ lives are like around the world and I can see the direct impact that our business and our products have on their health and happiness – this feeds the soul. I can also help bridge science and business in my role, which I love.

How did you get into the industry?

As an undergrad, I double majored in Biology and Anthropology and kicked-off my career in a clinical research laboratory in Immunology. I enjoyed the research role that aligned well with my life sciences background, but I decided that I wanted to couple my passion for science with an equal passion for culture and human connection (perhaps the Anthropologist in me). I have never regretted taking a chance on my career to move more into the commercial side of the industry, holding customer interfacing roles in sales, marketing, and public relations.

Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

I fell in love with Naples, Italy. There’s a grit that Naples has that is captivating and inspiring. It’s rich in culture, in history, in food, and in experience. It’s raw, it’s real and honest, and it’s beautiful. Some say “Rome is the heart of Italy, but Naples is the soul of Italy,” and I could not agree with that more.

Join Kieran & Amy on a webinar entitled Coating: Curing Your Complex Oral Solid Dose (OSD) Challenges by Pfizer CentreOne on 12th May at 3PM GMT / 10AM New York.

Sandy Bulloch, Director of Strategic Collaborations

Sandy is a qualified pharmacist who has 30 years of commercial experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He has led multinational market access projects in the fields of drug development and regenerative medicine. He joined Biogelx’s business development team a year and a half ago to support the company’s growth strategy and establish new collaborations with future commercial potential.

 What is Biogelx for those who may not have heard of the company’s novel 3D peptide-based hydrogels scaffolds?

Biogelx was formed as a spin-out company Professor Rein Ulijn’s lab at the University of Strathclyde. Biogelx™ self-assembling synthetic peptide products have rapidly gained a global reputation in the area of 3D cell culture for both Regenerative Medicines and Drug Discovery. The materials’ unique ability to emulate specific physical properties of a wide range of different tissue types offer new opportunities for the development of tailored 3D models for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Building on the success of Biogelx™ core technology, the company designed and developed a novel bioink product family (Biogelx™-INKs) which opens the opportunity for the development of advanced three-dimensional tissue models. These hydrogel-based inks are biocompatible and easily printable, exhibiting excellent shear-thinning properties, which reduce the stress experienced by cells when subjected to the printing process. However, the key differentiator of these bioinks is the unique mix of their properties, which ensure versatility and consistency for bioprinting applications.

 What is new for this year as opposed to the previous one at Biogelx?

This year has been hectic for us. We launched the bioink product range early April. We signed off a few strategic collaborations with bioprinter manufacturers, such as 3D Bioprinting Solutions in Brazil, ONSBio in the US and Regemat 3D in Spain. We have also welcomed a distribution agreement with Merck Sigma-Aldrich and start working on the bioink product launch campaign in early January. In the webinar we will present a case study where working along with Regemat 3D and PITI3D, and demonstrate feasibility to develop a skin tissue construct model and we are hopeful of future funding to develop the concept further to tackle the debilitating condition caused by diabetic ulceration.

You mentioned that Biogelx will host a live webinar on January 21. What do the audience gain from attending this webinar?

 We will discuss the potential of 3D printing of biomaterials and cells and maturing them in a bioreactor to create functional skin in the lab. We will talk about the requirements of biomaterials and introduce a versatile bioink technology. Furthermore, we will present a case study on a recently developed 3D printed in vitro skin model.

We will have three great speakers: Dr José Manuel Baena, Founder and CEO, Regemat 3D; Dr Chris Allan, Development Scientist, Biogelx; and Mario Juárez Rodríguez, MSc – Research associate at the Platform for Tissue Engineering and 3D Printing, La Paz University Hospital, Madrid. They will be answering questions after the webinar, so it is worth to register and join us on Tuesday, January 21.

How can people learn more about Biogelx’s peptide-based hydrogel products?

We have an up-to-date website where we regularly publish the latest insight and perspectives from the world of 3D bioprinting along with the newest evidence for our products.  But above all, working in partnership is a priority for Biogelx so you can always contact us in person by emailing me at [email protected]. We are always here to answer questions, help solve problems and develop bespoke solutions.

 

 

A conversation with Gary Hutchinson, Founder and President Modality Solutions and Daniel J. Littlefield, Founder and VP Engineering

As a founder and the President of Modality Solutions, Gary Hutchinson has developed logistics processes and managed supply chain professional organizations in a variety of industries.

Daniel Littlefield is a founder of Modality Solutions. He has helped establish Modality Solutions as an innovator in the cold chain logistics industry. Dan recently headed up Modality Solutions’ CDC-sponsored Ebola clinical trial operations project in Sierra Leone and NIH-sponsored clinical trial operations project in Liberia in 2015 and 2016.

1. What do you hope attendees will gain at your event’s?

Gary: I hope attendees get a deep understanding on how to meet the changing regulatory expectations for monoclonal antibodies and most recently for the new class of immunotherapies. Expectations on drug product testing, the role of simulation and the changing requirements on the role of ASTM testing is all critical to new therapy approval.

Dan: I feel like we’ve really raised the bar on technical rationale for why and how we do simulation testing, and I’m excited to share our thoughts on how it all fits together. We want to share how our validation methodology flows logically from risk assessment through qualification results, and how the logic can be applied to the full spectrum of new treatments.

2. What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

Gary: We love getting and sharing feedback received from regulators around the globe on cold chain validation strategies and expectations on execution. It’s great to see more and more harmonization on a global approach to cold chain validation focused on the patient. We are uniquely positioned to share information because of our involvement in cold chain validation for more than 75 therapies in the last 18 months, but we always love to learn about your experience, too!

Dan:  We work with a lot of very smart people in the industry who are developing new therapies, and a webinar like this helps us to broaden our knowledge base regarding the latest nuances in therapies.  Industry innovation is increasing, and we need to stay sharp about what’s out there, and what’s on the way, so we can ensure the robustness of all the work we do.

3. What do you enjoy most about your role?

Gary: Without a doubt, we love helping our clients navigate an increasing complex cold chain for the latest therapies. We enjoy being involved early in clinical trials to simulate the transport environment on early stage therapies and being part of great teams all the way through approval.

Dan:  We have a great team of engineers, and we’re always working to ensure client success.  We’re always excited when we hear of a successful submission or clinical trial, because we know we’ve done our part to make sure our clients’ patients are getting great new therapies.  Also, because I am an engineer, I personally enjoy the more technical aspects of our work.

4. How did you get into the industry?

Gary: My career in supply chain and logistics started more than 25 years ago after graduating from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio with a master’s degree in business logistics and finance. I entered the life sciences industry in 2000 as part of the great medical device manufacturing team at Edwards Lifesciences.

Dan:  I’ve been an engineer for more than 30 years.  I’ve had a colorful career with a lot of great experiences.  I was fortunate to get my master’s degree in chemical engineering, which has given me more depth in my technical skills.  In addition, my 18 years with DuPont were great to broaden my skillset and address the more practical aspects of statistical and mathematical modeling, heat transfer, and thermodynamics.  As a founder of Modality Solutions, I’ve worked with almost every client, giving me a solid base in the biopharmaceutical industry.

5. Where is your favorite place in the world and why?

Gary: My favorite place in the world is blue water sailing anywhere in the world. I do not get out on the water as much before, but I take any chance I get to recharge out on the ocean.

Dan: My father and I have gone fly fishing together for more than 40 years.  The one vacation I manage to get is to travel to the Bighorn Mountains or Snowy Range in Wyoming.  Of course, I go in July and August, so there isn’t (much) snow, but the scenery is beautiful, and the fishing is pretty good too!