DIA 2025 Global Annual Meeting

Component Type: Forum
Level: Advanced

This session will delve into the historical and ethical context for distinguishing between clinical care and research and how the blurring poses a risk for engagement with patients. Experts in ethics and health literacy will discuss potential pitfall

Learning Objectives

Recognize the ethical and historical context for distinguishing between clinical care and research; Describe the regulatory and ethical challenges that are exposed when sponsors and investigators push patients to clinical research; Discuss how language and health literacy have the potential to impact an individual’s decision to participate in research.

Chair

Karla Childers, MS

Speaker

Bioethics perspective
Lindsay McNair, MD, MPH, MS

Patient and health literacy perspective
Catina O'Leary, PhD

IRB perspective
David Borasky, MPH

Component Type: Forum
Level: Intermediate

The ICH improved global drug development, but rising country-specific regulations increase complexity and costs for multinational submissions. This session explores key harmonization challenges, regulatory trends, and strategies to navigate diverse requirements for successful drug approvals. Effective communication between sponsors and regulatory agencies is critical for the successful development and approval of new medicines. This forum will explore the similarities and differences in how major global regulators—such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA)—engage with sponsors throughout the drug development lifecycle. We will delve into the formal channels and informal practices each regulatory body uses to guide sponsors, address compliance issues, and expedite approvals. Key similarities, such as scientific advice meetings, regulatory guidance documents, and the use of conditional approval pathways, will be examined. At the same time, critical differences, including cultural approaches to engagement, the role of pre-submission meetings, and divergent regulatory timelines, will be highlighted. Through a comparative lens, this forum will also address how recent trends, such as digital transformation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and emerging policies on patient-centric drug development are shaping interactions with regulators worldwide. The session will provide attendees with practical insights into navigating global regulatory landscapes, fostering better communication with agencies, and optimizing regulatory strategies for successful drug approvals across diverse markets.

Learning Objectives

Identify the similarities and differences in how major global regulators (FDA, NMPA, PMDA, EMA) engage with sponsors throughout the drug development lifecycle; Analyze key similarities, such as scientific advice meetings, regulatory guidance documents, and the use of conditional approval pathways among different regulatory agencies; Recognize ways to gain practical insights into navigating global landscape.

Chair

Steve Sibley, MS

Speaker

FDA Perspective on Best Practices for Navigating Divergent Regulatory Feedback
Namandjé Bumpus, PhD

Best Practices for Navigating Divergent Regulatory Feedback
Natalie Tolli, MS, RPh

Component Type: Session
Level: Intermediate

The session explores the transformative impact of the ICH M11 digital protocol template on key clinical trial stakeholders, such as medical writers, standards professionals, and regulatory reviewers. It highlights how standardized, structured content

Learning Objectives

Recognize the ICH M11’s Role in Digital Protocols Across Stakeholder Roles; Explain Customization and Multi-View Capabilities; Discuss how to evaluate the Impact on Decision-Making and Efficiency for Key Roles; Describe ways to examine Multi-Format Exchange of Protocol Information.

Component Type: Session
Level: Intermediate

This session will explore the evaluation and integration of assistive technology for clinical document content creation. The panelists will describe experimental design, cross-functional team formation, and the adoption of tailored solutions.

Learning Objectives

Discuss and evaluate the potential benefits and challenges of implementing assistive technology, including both rule-based and AI-based solutions; Recognize the criticality of working with cross-functional teams to assess and implement technologies, ensuring successful adoption and return on investment; Recognize how to design a strategy for integrating technologies into existing systems and behaviors.

Chair

Ulrike Kochendoerfer, PhD

Speaker

Revolutionizing Medical Writing: Evaluating and Building the Assistive Technolgy Ecosystem
Matthew Renda, PhD, MS

Revolutionizing Medical Writing: Evaluating and Building the Assistive Technolgy Ecosystem
Aliza Nathoo

Component Type: Session
Level: Intermediate

In the ever-evolving pharma/biotech landscape, leaders face challenges that test their professional and personal resilience. The past year has seen a significant strain on the industry, marked by the disruption of new technologies (and expectations associated with it), the failure of promising compounds, economic pressures, and layoffs. As leaders, we are often left to shoulder the weight of these challenges, managing not only our own emotional burden but also the morale of our teams and the broader organizational impacts. This presentation, delivered by a panel of seasoned professionals in the regulatory writing space, will explore the often-unspoken loneliness of leadership in times of upheaval. We will share personal insights from our career journeys, addressing the ways in which leadership can feel isolating, especially when navigating industry setbacks. In addition, we will provide practical strategies for coping with these burdens, drawing from experiences in career pivots, reskilling/retooling, and personal resilience. We will discuss ways to maintain emotional well-being, foster collaboration, and lead with transparency, even in the face of industry-wide adversity. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to support their teams and themselves, and insights into how to continue leading effectively in times of uncertainty.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the unique emotional and professional challenges faced by regulatory writing leaders during periods of significant change; Describe developing strategies for maintaining personal resilience and emotional well-being while leading teams through industry-wide setbacks and economic pressures; Recognize ways to implement actionable techniques for fostering skill development, reskilling, and collaboration to effectively support both individual and team growth during challenging times.

Chair

Robin Whitsell

Speaker

Panelist
Cathy Tyrrell

Panelist
Matthew Robillard

Component Type: Session
Level: Intermediate

This session will explore the FDA START program for accelerating rare disease therapies. We will invite companies who participated in the START pilot and a FDA representative.

Learning Objectives

Explain the objectives of the FDA START Program and its role in supporting rare disease development; Discuss how medical writers can support companies applying for and participating in the START program.

Chair

Robin Whitsell

Speaker

Panelist
Madiha Khalid, PhD

Panelist
Jhon Cores, PhD

Component Type: Session
Level: Basic

The ability to find, access, understand, and apply healthcare-related information (health literacy) plays a large role in global health outcomes. This session reviews health literacy and strategies to increase health literacy in a digital age.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the basics of health literacy and how they relate to health outcomes; Explain ways to apply new strategies for communicating healthcare information to a broad audience with a range of health literacy levels; Utilize digital tools to achieve strategic goals around healthcare information dissemination.

Chair

Chantelle Rein-Smith, PhD

Component Type: Session
Level: Basic

Come learn about the exciting world of digital protocol and how industry innovators are taking the steps to transition from a document-centric protocol to a data-centric protocol, how digital protocol use cases can be enabled by AI and listen to how you and your company can prepare for the change required to adopt digital protocol. We will start with an update on current initiatives including the TransCelerate Digital Data Flow (DDF), CDISC Unified Study Definition Model (USDM), and ICH M11 Harmonized Protocol. Then we will explore the opportunities industry has to leverage structured digital protocol information to enable AI supporting innovation such as intelligent study design, automation of data transformation and analysis, and dynamic regulatory review. Finally, we will share our thoughts on how you and your company can get started on the digital protocol journey.

Learning Objectives

Recognize how various digital protocol collaborations are working together including ICH M11, TransCelerate/CDISC Digital Data Flow, and the HL7 Vulcan Unified Digital Protocol; Discuss possible AI use cases that can leverage standard digital protocol information; Describe ways to prepare for the implementation and change management required to realize the benefits of a digital protocol.

Chair

Chris Decker, MS

Speaker

Preparing for ICH M11 and Digitial Protocol: Am I Prepared?
William Illis, MPH

Industry Initiative Updates: How TransCelerate DDF, CDISC, USDM, and ICH M11 are Transforming Industry
Chris Decker, MS

Opportunities for Digital Protocol Standards Can Enable AI
Robert DiCicco, PharmD

Component Type: Session
Level: Intermediate

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Structured Content Authoring (SCA) tools are here. The challenge of seamlessly integrating these technologies into compliant and efficient workflows is reshaping the regulatory document development process. This session will delve into the balance and interdependence of four pillars (technology, process, people, and organization) to drive the business value of these tools. The interplay of these elements stokes an environment of thriving innovation, leading to enhanced efficiency, quality, and value proposition for the underlying business. AI/SCA have been thoroughly discussed in the regulatory writing process. Now there is focus on evolving technologies, the challenge lies in integrating these advancements into our workflows and processes, or implementing change management processes to allow for their use. Utilizing these tools coupled with organizational and process driven acceleration levers will condense the time to document approval and decrease the number of resources need to produce these documents. Moreover, the concerted and collaborative efforts across various functions, ranging from clinical sciences to biostatistics programming to review and approval pathways, ensures a thorough and compliant documentation process. It is time to focus and clearly define, emphasize, and promote the importance of the human element in the utilization of these tools, the people and the processes, at the heart of transformative authoring. Attendees will gain insights into the strategic integration of the four pillars in medical writing, drawing real-world use cases of these technologies in industry. These strategies, while transformative, do not necessitate a radical shift when applied independently. Instead, their true power lies in their harmonious application, which collectively refines traditional authoring paradigms.

Learning Objectives

Analyze the business value of AI and Structured Content Authoring tools in Regulatory Medical Writing to enhance efficiency and compliance; Evaluate process modifications in document development resulting from technology innovations to optimize workflow; Develop strategies to implement change management and organizational shifts that support technology-driven solutions.

Chair

David Meats, II

Speaker

Speakers
Louise Lind Skov, PhD

Speaker
Eishita Agarwal, MSc

Component Type: Forum
Level: Intermediate

This session will cover FDA developments relevant to Medical Affairs activities, including guidance and enforcement on sharing "scientific information about unapproved uses" (SIUU), responding to medical misinformation, and presenting efficacy data.

Learning Objectives

Identify recent FDA policy developments that are relevant to common Medical Affairs activities; Discuss and assess potential legal/regulatory risk of current and new Medical Affairs activities in light of these developments.

Chair

Torrey Cope, JD