DIA Does Not Disappoint — For The Most Part

By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @RfwrightLSL

For the most part, the 2014 Drug Information Association’s (DIA) annual meeting did not disappoint. However, I do want to provide the DIA planners some constructive criticism toward making a great meeting even better next year. I shared these insights with DIA prior to publishing, and they are eager to create an event that is most meaningful to its members. So don’t ignore the surveys you will soon receive in the email. Instead, take a moment to give them feedback (like I have below) so they can help you get the most out of DIA in 2015.

Developmental Opportunities For DIA

First, when I showed up to the session to be chaired by Purdue’s Mitch Katz, I found out he was MIA. I now realize he was involved in a major company restructuring and couldn’t make it. Hey, life happens, but I also know that Katz gave DIA plenty of heads up on the change. How about a tweet from DIA giving attendees a heads up on this change? Perhaps you did, and I missed it; there were an awful lot of tweets about the show. If it did go out, my apologies. But I also showed up to another session that was completely cancelled, and I am not sure this was communicated as well as it could have been. As an industry we are talking about using social media better in our drug development efforts. Let’s do the same in our meeting execution and communication efforts.  

The second item I would like the folks at DIA to consider for next year — sometimes less is more. Here is what I mean. The session I chaired was “lightly” attended on Tuesday morning between 8 – 9:30 AM PDT. Of course, low attendance can be an excellent barometer for the market (DIA attendees) signaling lack of topic interest, and I accept that feedback. However, I am also aware that there were 26 sessions taking place during the same time slot. I don’t believe low attendance to be an anomaly of just my session, or just this year.

My final suggestion for making next year’s DIA meeting better is to provide speakers with the tools and support to not just speak about being innovative, but to be innovative. Wireless microphones, Wi-Fi, or the ability to use Prezi presentation software would be a great start so we could have even more DIA shining moments. 

DIA — Full Of Shining Moments — Posters And Patients

On my way to a session, I happened to see Pfizer’s chief medical officer, Freda Lewis-Hall, walking among the posters. I realize in her role as DIA program co-chair that this is one of her responsibilities. However, Dr. Lewis-Hall isn’t obligated to suggest to me to go check out a poster she thinks I would find interesting. During our conversation she not only suggested I be sure to check out Todd Knepper’s poster, she even gave me an enthusiastic Reader’s Digest version of what it was about. Obviously she isn’t just “mailing it in” when it comes to engaging with attendees.

Another shining moment was the keynote presentation by Jamie Heywood, cofounder and chairman of PatientLikeMe. The recipient of the DIA 2014 President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in World Health, Heywood founded the organization when his brother, Stephen, was diagnosed with ALS. During his keynote, he outlined the traditional struggle of finding cures, vowing to change the additive model from discovery + development + delivery = “healthspan” (the length of time an individual is able to maintain good health) to discovery, development, and delivery occurring simultaneously. I knew his message, which utilized a number of statistical and data analytical techniques, resonated well with this highly educated audience. The person I was sitting next to, Chiltern CEO, Jim Eisenhart, who happens to have a Ph.D. in Biostatistics, was frequently nodding his head in agreement to many of Heywood’s data-driven points. Heywood had a number of insights during his presentation, such as wishing he had focused on biomarkers instead of cures in his attempt to help his brother. For more of his insights, check out this twitter feed of comments and photos for this year’s keynote presentation. During Heywood’s closing remarks, he stated 93 percent of people want to help the drug industry, but to do so we need to truly involve patients in patient centered design.

DIA — Creating Collaborative Connections

I am fascinated when I meet people willing to tackle problems by taking new approaches. During DIA, one of Life Science Leader magazine’s editorial advisory board members was walking the exhibit floor. They came across something they thought I would find interesting, and sent me an email, as well as a tweet suggesting I stop by booth 401 — QlikView. But I wasn’t going to meet with the folks from QlikView, instead it was one of the company’s customers, Vince DeChellis, cofounder and principal of DarkMatter2bd. According to DeChellis, he met the folks from QlikView at the HIMSS (Health Information Management Systems Society) annual meeting earlier this year, and showed them how his company was using the QlikView product. I guess they were pretty impressed since they invited DeChellis to demonstrate DarkMatter2bd’s service using QlikView’s product at their DIA booth. To me this is a great example of QlikView showing a willingness to think differently. Who better to show how cool your product is than a satisfied customer at a big industry show? As for what DeChellis is doing that I think could be a potential game changer in the clinical space, I will put it this way — many people having been using Big Data to find relationships between physicians, patients, and products. But DarkMatter2bd understands the value of taking this to the next level to include meaningful relationships existing between physicians. I told DeChellis he should meet with Jamie Heywood of PatientsLikeMe. He informed me he had done so just the day before. And that, folks, is the best shining moment of DIA — creating the opportunity to connect toward mutually beneficial collaborations.