Speaker 1: Welcome to our podcast on the Director's Notes in under
Speaker 1: ten minutes for the fifteenth annual POD Partnership Opportunities and
Speaker 1: Drug Delivery Conference, which takes place October twenty seventh and
Speaker 1: twenty eighth in Boston. Valerie Boling, I'm the executive director
Speaker 1: of the conference Forum, and I am delighted to be
Speaker 1: joined by my colleague Andrew Goldstein, who is the senior
Speaker 1: producer for the POD conference.
Speaker 2: And Hello Andrew, and welcome, Hi, Valerie. Happy to be here.
Speaker 1: Andrew. We're going to give highlights on what to expect
Speaker 1: for the twenty twenty five conference. It is our fifteenth annual.
Speaker 1: It's a celebration year, and we've seen so much over
Speaker 1: those years. My goodness, and as always, we're so honored
Speaker 1: to present this program with MIT's doctor Robert Langer, who
Speaker 1: always gives an excellent keynote, and there's nobody like doctor Langer,
Speaker 1: and it's always such a pleasure to have him, Andrew.
Speaker 1: As you know, POD is a strategic level program. We
Speaker 1: don't consider it a trade show. Although we have a
Speaker 1: really interesting wide array of drug delivery companies for folks
Speaker 1: to meet. There's so much partnering. It is a Partnering program,
Speaker 1: and we do a lot of work to balance the
Speaker 1: strategic level, high level content that we don't think you
Speaker 1: really can get anywhere else because we have the advantage
Speaker 1: of being an industry research firm where we can draw
Speaker 1: on five areas of research that we cover here at
Speaker 1: the conference form we can bring that to the POD program.
Speaker 1: So that's part of its uniqueness. But we do have
Speaker 1: about a thousand people now. So with that, Andrew, you
Speaker 1: have been interviewing and researching with many, many pharma and
Speaker 1: drug delivery companies. So based on your research, tell us
Speaker 1: what the hot themes are.
Speaker 2: Definitely, thank you, Valerie. So the POD conference has a
Speaker 2: huge history reporting on cutting edge scientific trends and pharma
Speaker 2: needs and drug delivery business deals and really everything in
Speaker 2: the drug delivery space. This year, specifically, there's been an
Speaker 2: increased focus on deal making and partnerships. I know that
Speaker 2: might seem obvious for POD Partnership Conference, but there has
Speaker 2: been an uptick in deals and so hearing on what
Speaker 2: companies are interested in, how these deals work, what goes
Speaker 2: into it from a scientific level, from a business level,
Speaker 2: what the process looks like in terms of the scientific topics.
Speaker 2: Lots of interest in delivering different therapeutics using different modalities,
Speaker 2: selling gene and biologics delivery. The GLP one and other
Speaker 2: incretin drugs have been coming up quite a lot, and
Speaker 2: increased focus in combination device development, manufacturing and sustainability and
Speaker 2: delivering high volume, high concentration therapeutics, as well as integrating
Speaker 2: digital health and connected devices Andrew.
Speaker 1: As you know, the POD conference has these classic sections
Speaker 1: that people really love. For example, like an entire afternoon
Speaker 1: on just the drug delivery presentations across modalities. So can
Speaker 1: you give us a quick rundown on how it is
Speaker 1: organized and you can go through the sections that people
Speaker 1: can expect.
Speaker 2: Definitely on the first and second days of the program,
Speaker 2: we do have industry overviews from Roche and then from
Speaker 2: Pharma Circle, just a year interview. What are the hot topics,
Speaker 2: what are the deals being made, what are the trends
Speaker 2: we're seeing in drug delivery. We also, this year, as
Speaker 2: we have every year, the annual Company Spotlights, where pharma
Speaker 2: companies will present on the technologies that they're interested in
Speaker 2: and their partnership philosophies. This year, Nevardis and AVY are
Speaker 2: signed on to speak about what they're looking for and
Speaker 2: what they're interested in. And in addition to that, we
Speaker 2: do have a panel on partnering and what that looks like,
Speaker 2: how to do, what that process is, as well as
Speaker 2: a fireside conversation about that as well. On the first
Speaker 2: day of the program in the afternoon. We often call
Speaker 2: this the crown jewel of the POD conference, we have
Speaker 2: the drug delivery technology presentations. This year we have tracks
Speaker 2: on injectible formulations and technologies, oral mucosal transderble and other
Speaker 2: non injectible technologies, novel devices, self injectibles, where robles and
Speaker 2: connective devices, selling gene delivery, excipient innovation, novel device technologies,
Speaker 2: novel injectable and non injectible technologies, sell gene and novel biologics,
Speaker 2: delivery and self injection devices, syringes, primary containers, and packaging solutions,
Speaker 2: and so within these tracks, companies will present on new data,
Speaker 2: what they're working on, their technologies, mechanisms of action, and
Speaker 2: what they're looking for in terms of partnerships with pharma.
Speaker 2: And within this area, I think we dedicate generally twenty
Speaker 2: percent of the time specifically for emerging companies, so we
Speaker 2: are getting both regulars and also new companies coming back
Speaker 2: every year.
Speaker 1: Nice.
Speaker 2: In addition to that, on the second day of the program,
Speaker 2: we have our annual pod Soapbox, where really young innovative
Speaker 2: drug delivery companies give very quick presentations on what they're
Speaker 2: working on, and then usually when they finish, we have
Speaker 2: lunch and people could come over and speak to those
Speaker 2: companies as well.
Speaker 1: Nice. Nice. So we've got keynotes, panel discussions, We've got
Speaker 1: our company spotlights talking about their partnering philosophies and what
Speaker 1: they look for in drug delivery. We've got the afternoon
Speaker 1: tracks as you just described, and we have other breakout choices.
Speaker 1: We have the Soapbox. Anyhow, there are other highlights I know,
Speaker 1: so tell us more about those definitely.
Speaker 2: So I'd love to talk about the keynotes this year,
Speaker 2: as every year, we have doctor Robert Langer from MIT,
Speaker 2: and he's going to be speaking about the state of
Speaker 2: innovation in drug delivery industry. This year, we're proud to
Speaker 2: welcome doctor Latabierre Nudsen, Novo Nordisk's chief scientific advisor, who
Speaker 2: drove the development of GLP drugs for obesity, and she's
Speaker 2: going to present on the lyric glue tide and sema
Speaker 2: glue tide story. Her approach to scientific development and where
Speaker 2: drug delivery intersects with her R.
Speaker 1: And D work.
Speaker 2: We also have a patient keynote this year, Jamie Oligiri,
Speaker 2: who will share his he as a patient with sickle
Speaker 2: cell disease before and after receiving CASKEV, which is a
Speaker 2: crisper based therapy for sickle cell disease, and his mission
Speaker 2: to make these therapies more accessible for patients globally. Additionally,
Speaker 2: we have a Zeitgeist presenter in doctor Mensor Emigi, who
Speaker 2: is a University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University. He's going
Speaker 2: to speak on endogenoust targeted delivery, different strategies to overcome
Speaker 2: biological barriers and improve efficacy and safety.
Speaker 1: And to add to this wonderful list of keynotes, I
Speaker 1: am absolutely delighted that we have for the first time
Speaker 1: at POD doctor George Young Coppolis, who of course is
Speaker 1: the co founder of Regeneron, and not only is he
Speaker 1: a great innovative thinker and doer, but he's just an
Speaker 1: excellent leader in this space. So just really delighted that
Speaker 1: doctor Young Coppolis will be joining doctor Robert Langer on
Speaker 1: the stage.
Speaker 2: Also returning this year to the POD conference. I think
Speaker 2: it's the fourth time we have a panel from haayers
Speaker 2: sharing their perspectives on drug delivery. This year, they're going
Speaker 2: to cover the pharmacoeconomics of drug delivery, enable drug products
Speaker 2: demonstrating value to the patient and system versus just a
Speaker 2: pricing comparison to products already on the market, Pressures on
Speaker 2: drug pricing and leveraging health economics, as well as trends
Speaker 2: in coverage and pricing for incretins and nucleic acid drugs.
Speaker 1: Wow, Okay, that's a lot, Andrew fantastic. So are there
Speaker 1: any other highlights you want to bring forward to us?
Speaker 2: Definitely. So on the second day of the program, after lunch,
Speaker 2: we're going to have our panel tracks, and so this
Speaker 2: year we've split it up into four tracks. The first
Speaker 2: track is Novel Formulations, where we'll speak about novel vehicles
Speaker 2: to deliver genetic medicines, tissue specific targeting for nucleic acid
Speaker 2: therapies ADCs, and other approaches for drug conjugation and bioconjugation,
Speaker 2: oral delivery of biologics and peptides, and sustained release and
Speaker 2: long acting delivery. Then we'll have a track on novel
Speaker 2: delivery modalities where we'll talk about brain delivery, transdermal delivery, vaccines,
Speaker 2: ophthalmic delivery, and then respiratory devices and inhale biologics. We
Speaker 2: will have a combination device track that will speak on
Speaker 2: platform approaches to develop combination product developing, a global regulatory framework,
Speaker 2: preparing for manufacturing, scale up for commercialization or clinic sustainability
Speaker 2: throughout the process, and then using AI in combination product development.
Speaker 2: And lastly, a novel Drug delivery and Device technologies track
Speaker 2: where we'll discuss transitioning from IV to SubQ and how
Speaker 2: that impacts workflow and patients, Dual chamber injectibles and advances
Speaker 2: in that area, Digital tech for improving patient experience and
Speaker 2: preparing the supply chain delivering hyper concentrated formulations, and then
Speaker 2: also large volume delivery. Nice Valarie, if I can ask
Speaker 2: you a question, I'd love to get your thoughts on
Speaker 2: the networking opportunities at the conference.
Speaker 1: Yeah. No, it's really important that we have very intentionally
Speaker 1: prepared tools and support for people to partner because that's
Speaker 1: what it's all about, right. So we've got companies who
Speaker 1: have an array of different drug delivery solutions or possibilities,
Speaker 1: and we have an array of pharm and biotech companies
Speaker 1: who are looking for those solutions. So it's really important.
Speaker 1: And I've always noticed that with the POD conference that
Speaker 1: people come very organized, they're very intentional. They're there to
Speaker 1: really meet people and talk about the science and the
Speaker 1: challenges that they're having. So you see that it's always
Speaker 1: just packed. The partnering like all of the partnering tables,
Speaker 1: and we make sure that we have our folks on
Speaker 1: the ground to make sure that there's never not a
Speaker 1: table available for people. We take the partnering very seriously
Speaker 1: and we have different sections where people can partner. We're
Speaker 1: going to have a new partnering tool, which I'm very
Speaker 1: excited about. If somebody can't reach somebody, we have staff
Speaker 1: on site, a dedicated partnering desk to help people bind
Speaker 1: the people that they're looking for. So partnering is huge. Again,
Speaker 1: the tool, the tables, and the on site support have
Speaker 1: the morning breaks, the afternoon breaks, and we also have
Speaker 1: an annual reception for people to network and for people
Speaker 1: to meet those exhibitors, and of course a lot of
Speaker 1: partnering does happen at the exhibit tables. You know, our
Speaker 1: exhibitors are always so incredibly organized and the room is
Speaker 1: always just so full, and so, you know, so you
Speaker 1: see the partnering at the tables, but you also see
Speaker 1: it at the exhibit tables as well. So I hope
Speaker 1: that you know, it gives everyone a sense of the
Speaker 1: kind of networking that we have. It's very intentional, it's
Speaker 1: well organized, but we also balance it with just hey,
Speaker 1: I just want to get a drink at the reception
Speaker 1: and just talk to people without having to have a
Speaker 1: partnering planned meeting. That's okay too. So with that, where
Speaker 1: can people go to get more information?
Speaker 2: Thank you Alleri. So people can go to podconference dot
Speaker 2: com that's Pod with two d's to learn more about
Speaker 2: the conference. You can see the agenda, the speaking faculty,
Speaker 2: the exhibiting companies and other sponsoring companies and learn more
Speaker 2: about the conference. And in addition to that, we cover
Speaker 2: the drug delivery market throughout the year through editorials, podcasts,
Speaker 2: and webcasts and you can see all of that at
Speaker 2: drug Dashdelivery dot org.
Speaker 1: All right, excellent, Andrew, thank you so much, and thanks everyone.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Valerie