Dare to be Different - Pharmaceutical Facilities of the Future

Recently I was “asked” to help co-chair the 2016 Facilities of the Future Conference by a not-to-be-named board member who has my same first name.  I accepted the assignment despite the minimal pay (none) and countless hours of effort required for one reason - ISPE’s intent for this conference is to be “Different”. And for those of you who know me, I can be different! As the planning for this event continues to develop, I wanted to entice you with several of the conference’s “Different” components.  Not only is the intent of these components to make the conference look and feel unique, but also to be engaging and allow you to interact differently throughout the two-days.

The two-day 2016 Facilities of the Future Conference will Share, Explore, and Promote Innovation.

Cream of the Crop Each day will feature multiple keynote presentations from industry leaders who are implementing new innovations within their organizations.   Representatives from MedImmune, McKinsey, FDA, and NIBRT will inform and provide their perspectives on the future of facilities, the backbone of our industry. Ted Talk Format A new-to-ISPE general session, titled “Perspectives of Change”, will provide attendees with three short-format speeches on the first day.  The speeches will be informative and accent the experimental intent of the conference.   These speeches will include the following topics:

• Learning Differently
• BioBots - Automating Biology
• Consultants as Change Catalysts

Bricks and Brains The conference’s concurrent presentations have been categorized into two general categories offering the presenters the liberty to present their expertise without being confined by a specific theme.

• “Bricks” will provide examples of current facilities and projects which are already leading innovation within the industry.
• “Brains” will accent facility challenges that are still being developed or ideas that are expected to impact future facilities.

Stakeholders Summit The 2016 Facilities of the Future Conference will conclude with a general session, the Stakeholders Summit.  All attendees and presenters will reconvene in a town hall format to challenge the ideas and concepts shared over the previous two-days and identify the potential concepts that will change the future of biopharma industry facilities. There’s More! Conference components that are still in the planning stages include a potential Ideation Reception and Futurist Dinner pending sponsorships (yes, that was a shameless plug for sponsors!). I hope to see you on 14-15 November 2016 in Bethesda, MD so we can share this sure-to-be “Different” experience together.