As this issue goes to press, the staff here at Contract Pharma are hard at work organizing another edition of our annual outsourcing networking event, the 18th Contracting & Outsourcing Conference and Tabletop Exhibition. If you’re looking for a drug development and/or manufacturing partner, the Hyatt in New Brunswick, NJ is the place for you to be September 26-27. On Thursday the 26th, the tabletop exhibit is the industry’s premiere one-stop-shop for all your outsourcing needs. From early development support to commercial filling and secondary packaging, a wide range of contract service providers will be on hand to discuss whatever challenges you may be facing or services required.

The conference sessions will run all day Thursday and half a day on Friday the 27th. Some of our featured speakers are also regular contributors to Contract Pharma. After delivering an epic mind bending keynote at last year’s event, Ben Locwin, our Clinically Speaking columnist, is bringing his bag of tricks back this year. He’ll be talking about the connection between autonomous vehicles, electric scooters and pharmaceutical supply chains. Say what? No really. Check out his column here to get a sneak peak of what’s to come during his talk. It should be a memorable one.

Jose Toro will be representing Lachman Consultants, who provide the content for our FDA Watch column each issue. He will discuss the current thinking on the benefits of continuous manufacturing and the regulatory hurdles a manufacturer has to overcome, the topic he also covers in his article this month here.

Emil Ciurczak, our regular Analyze This columnist (here), will be on hand to reveal the state of cGMPs and discuss what he thinks the industry is still not understanding.

Lastly, Contract Pharma’s BioPharm Insider, Eric Langer of BioPlan Associates, is going to hit on one of the hottest global topics in the industry at the moment: outsourcing to China. While China is a long ways from New Jersey, its impact on your business has probably already been felt in some way, and if not, will be soon.

In addition to our regular contributors, we’ve assembled an expert line-up of speakers covering a range of topics. Yali Friedman, founder of thinkBiotech and named by Scientific American as one of the 100 most influential people in biotechnology, will talk about finding and evaluating branded and generic market opportunities; Dave Windley of Jefferies will bring his Wall Street wit to break down the CDMO market; Janet Gould of SafeBridge will talk about the hot area of highly potent drug development, manufacturing and outsourcing; and Michael Wilkinson of Tufts CSDD will reveal the results of a study the center conducted on the vendor qualification process.

For more information, visit our conference website here, which includes the conference agenda, speaker bios, exhibit hall guide, and the Exhibitor Showcase. If you haven’t registered there’s still time! Click here and/or come to the Hyatt in New Brunswick to sign up on-site. Either way, make sure you’re a part of the industry’s leading event dedicated to Pharma and Biopharma Outsourcing. Hope to see you there!

Tim Wright, Editor
twright@rodmanmedia.com