Personalized Medicine
Will Patients Pay For Personalized Medicine?
In October I attended a personalized medicine dinner discussion hosted at the Washington, D.C. offices of the National Journal (a division of the Atlantic Media Company). The discussion was developed into an upcoming feature, “Are You Prepared For The Pending Personalized Medicine Revolution?” in Life Science Leader magazine’s December 2014 issue. One of the hot discussion topics revolved around who is going to pay for the...  Continue Reading..
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Don’t Volunteer Your Time For An Industry Conference Before Reading This
When I was asked to participate in the 2015 BIO International Convention’s Program Committee as the co-chair, I weighed the decision very carefully. I know that my most precious, limited, and nonrenewable resource is time. If I am to commit some of this resource to BIO, it will necessitate me, by default, choosing not to spend some time doing other things — especially if I want to do a good job. I imagine other members of the 2015...  Continue Reading..
Life Sciences editor Rob wright
Can Personalized Medicine Ever Truly Become A Reality?
On October 6, 2014, I received an invitation from Poppy MacDonald, president and publisher of the National Journal, for a private dinner conversation on the topic of personalized medicine with AstraZeneca’s Dave Fredrickson, VP of specialty care and William Mongan, VP of business development, new product planning and foundations portfolio. Leading the on-the-record discussion would be Marilyn Werber Serafini, VP for policy at the Alliance...  Continue Reading..
Fighting Ebola Pharma
How To Find The Cure For Diseases Like Ebola: Insights From The Founder Of PatientsLikeMe
In September I traveled to Boston to meet with the Jamie Heywood, cofounder and chairman of PatientsLikeMe, a for-profit company that has created a platform where patients can share, learn from, and contribute real-world outcome-based data to research.  Continue Reading..
bio international convention - 2014 global event for biotech
What Can You Learn From The Educational Planning Process Of BIO?
In my role as the 2015 co-chair of the BIO International’s educational planning committee, I am privy to what goes into creating one of our industry’s largest annual events. As many of you are involved in organizing your own customer educational programs (e.g., The Emerson Exchange) or have been asked to serve on an event planning committee, I thought a behind the scenes look into how BIO goes about the process would be helpful to...  Continue Reading..
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Why We Took A Different Approach To Planning A Conference
Like you, I have attended a lot of educational events and conferences over the years. I’m sure we both could list some that were unique, valuable, and memorable while others could be simply categorized as “been there, done that.” And since time is my most precious resource, the last thing I want to do is spend this ever-diminishing asset on attending — or planning — a conference that’s just like all the rest....  Continue Reading..
BioPharma Manufacturing
Does Adversity In BioPharma Manufacturing Build Character Or Reveal It?
When generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Hospira received an April 2010 warning letter from the FDA over quality compliance concerns at one of its largest plants, the company temporally shut down the plant to deal with the issues and start remediation. But the dominos continued to fall with Form FDA 483 Warning Letters ...  Continue Reading..
7 Habits Of The Highly Effective Biopharma Manufacturing Executive
The 7 Habits Of The Highly Effective Pharma And Biopharma Manufacturing Executive
While all The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People listed by Stephen Covey remain relevant and timeless, the one which resonates with me most is the seventh — sharpen the saw. In the life sciences industry, Covey’s concept of continuous improvement is more than just a habit, but a way of life. This is especially true for those who work in pharma and biopharma manufacturing — striving to maintain high quality, be on time with...  Continue Reading..
Learning From The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
What Pharma Needs To Learn From The Ice Bucket Challenge, Before It’s Too Late
“Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Those are the iconic words of baseball legend, Lou Gehrig, given in a farewell speech at Yankees Stadium some 75 years ago. Although Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which ended his professional baseball career, he still considered himself lucky.  Continue Reading..
bio international convention - 2014 global event for biotech
Will You Be A BIO Change Agent in 2015?
Last week, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) invited biotechnology, pharmaceutical, business development, life sciences and policy experts to submit topic proposals for sessions at the 2015 BIO International Convention.  Continue Reading..
Rob Wright author page

Rob Wright

Rob Wright was chief editor of Life Science Leader magazine from 2011-2021. Prior to joining the publication, he spent nearly 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry. During his industry career, Wright conducted well over 1,000 presentations and roundtable discussions, including the facilitation of FDA-mandated clinical training programs for hundreds of licensed healthcare providers. He has chaired, moderated, and served as a speaker at industry and academic conferences, and served as co-chair for the 2015 and 2018 BIO International conference’s educational planning committee. Wright’s 500+ published articles have appeared in peer-reviewed academic journals, B2B magazines and online publications. He received a B.S. in Business Administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, MBA with distinction from Gannon University, and completed his doctoral coursework in marketing at Cleveland State University. He is a member of international business honor societies Sigma Beta Delta and Beta Gamma Sigma. He can be followed on Twitter @RfwrightLSL