Life Science Leader Chief Editor Rob Wright is cochairing the 2018 BIO educational program planning committee. In this blog he talks about why this was the earliest the planning committee has ever met and what you can do to submit interesting and novel session proposals that will get the attention of the committee.

Next week, BIO will invite biopharmaceutical industry experts to submit educational topic session proposals for the 2018 BIO International Convention in Boston, June 4 - 7. The 2018 call for sessions and speakers opens on Thursday, September 14, and closes on Thursday, October 12, 2017. As I have (once again) agreed to serve as a BIO educational program planning committee co-chair, I have a vested interest in its success. My goal in helping biopharma’s largest and most influential global event, is to assist in creating such a strong educational program, that when you see this year’s offerings you will deem BIO 2018 in Boston as a must attend. However, I need your help to pull this off. The only question is: Will your participation be active — or passive?

The story behind Allergan’s bold decision to formalize its social contract with patients told to our Chief Editor by Brent Saunders, Allergan’s chairman, president, and CEO.

A little over two years ago, my wife’s employer informed her that, if I was able to get health insurance through my employer, I would have to do so. We didn’t think much about the change until my wife went to pick up a prescription for me in January 2016.

At this year’s BIO International Convention in San Diego (June 19 – 22), I moderated a session, Navigating A Clear Path To Public-Private Partnerships, and we talked about the good, the bad, and the ugly of P3s. After a brief introduction, the first question was posed, resulting in the following edited dialogue.

Forbes once called Merck’s Ken Frazier a “quote machine,” but I’d say David Hung is just as deserving of that moniker. I interviewed Hung, the new CEO of Axovant Sciences, at the BIO conference in June, and throughout our discussion I found myself smiling. Hung, who saw the company he founded, Medivation, be acquired by Pfizer for $14.3 billion, will be the subject of a Life Science Leader magazine exclusive feature in our October 2017 issue. During our conversation he provided a plethora of statements I found so memorable that I decided to put together a list of my top 10 favorites — listed in the order they occurred during conversation.

It’s been a little over a year since Sanat Chattopadhyay was named president of Merck Manufacturing Division (MMD), and this month he gives an exclusive interview on the status of the division’s transformational turnaround.

Have you ever experienced a ransomware nightmare? Merck did recently, and chief editor Rob Wright talks about that incident and the questions raised from such an attack.

In July I had two interesting opportunities. The first was on July 12, 2017 when I attended the Partnering For Cures (Twitter hashtag #FCP4C) conference in Boston. The second took place on July 19, when I got to tour GSK’s vaccine manufacturing facility in Marietta, PA. And while you might not think that a biopharmaceutical conference and a manufacturing facility would have much in common, in actuality they do, as both are focused on delivering safe and effective, high-quality medicines to patients as quickly and efficient as possible. Here are some highlights from my recent experiences.