Pharmacy News Article

NEW YORK, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ In an effort to remove barriers and embrace collaborations to get therapeutics to patients faster, pharmaceutical and biotech companies will listen to more than 25 drug delivery technology presentations, ranging from novel delivery devices to formulation technologies at the 2nd Annual PODD: Partnership Opportunities in Drug Delivery conference, October 1-2, 2012, at the Boston Park Plaza hotel in Boston, MA.

The PODD program is designed to introduce emerging and enabling drug delivery technologies to help pharmaceutical and biotech drug formulators obtain better clinical outcomes for patients. The PODD event features keynote addresses by two leading scientists in drug delivery, Dr Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor, MIT, and Dr. Stephen Oesterle, Senior Vice President for Medicine and Technology, Medtronic.

Dr Barbara Lueckel, Global Business Development Director, Roche returns as the PODD Chairperson. Dr. Lueckel found the inaugural PODD event served as a platform to facilitate innovative collaborations, noting that, "The panels provided an opportunity to gain further insights into companies' thinking on drug delivery partnering and to engage panelists into additional discussions." She also said, "I am glad we will see more panel discussions in 2012."

Additional industry experts speaking at PODD include:

• Dr. Sesha Neervannan, Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development, Allergan
• Dr. Julia Rashba-Step, Senior Director, Novel Delivery Technologies, Pfizer
• Dr. Anand Subramony, Head of Novel Delivery Technologies & Therapeutics, Novartis
• Dr. Keith Horspool, Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development, Boehringer Ingelheim

Further highlights of the PODD program include pre-arranged one-on-one partnering meetings, a drug delivery exhibit hall, numerous networking breaks and a reception. Over 250 attendees are anticipated. Companies participating in the 2012 PODD event include Allergan, Aptalis, Becton Dickinson, Boehringer Ingelheim, CIMA Labs, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, 3M Drug Delivery Systems, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, Patheon, Pfizer, Roche and Shire.

For more information, please visit www.theconferenceforum.org or contact Meredith Sands at Msands@theconferenceforum.orgor call 646-350-2586.

SOURCE The Conference Forum