The Drug Information Association (DIA) will play host to the largest group of exhibitors and attendees in its 41-year history. More than 815 exhibit booths representing more than 550 companies will be in attendance at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., June 26-June 30, 2005, for the DIA’s 41st Annual Meeting. “Virtually every facet of the biopharmaceutical industry and related fields will be represented in this extraordinary exhibit hall marketplace,” says Eileen Roth, senior manager, DIA Worldwide Exhibits. “From CROs and technology vendors to site research centers and academia, the exhibit hall will be one of the busiest places during this year’s annual meeting.” The variety and number of companies exhibiting is a testament to the ever-increasing importance and reliance on the support of clinical-trial service suppliers. Outsourcing has become a critical business strategy for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and device/diagnostics companies of all sizes. The outsourcing of discovery research, clinical trials, and formulation manufacturing offers sponsors the opportunity to benefit from improved productivity, increased growth, and higher quality trials. The annual meeting provides attendees from sponsor organizations with an outstanding opportunity to network and discover what’s new and hot in the supplier arena. Exhibitors, as in the past, no doubt will pull out all the stops to make the meeting as engaging and informative as possible. In addition, the DIA has fielded an unprecedented number of speakers — more than 1,000 — who will present sessions in 29 different course tracks, including 152 industry regulators. Plenary sessions will focus on topics of immediate and growing interest to all involved in the clinical and regulatory arenas, ranging from health policy and international regulatory issues to the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative. “The DIA annual meeting is the event to attend each year for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and regulatory professionals,” says Dr. Ron Fitzmartin, chairperson of the 41st meeting. “There is no other industry event with the breadth and depth of this meeting.” With more than 370 sessions and 45 tutorials, some “not to miss” discussions include: A New Era of Transparency in Clinical Research: The Evolution, Impact, and Future of Clinical Trial Registers and Registries (see the June 2005 issue of PharmaVOICE, The Time for Transparency, for more insights on this subject); Critical Path: Are We at the Fork in the Road?; and Medicines and Healthcare: Rebuilding the Trust, Reshaping the Future (watch for the September 2005 issue of PharmaVOICE to learn what industry experts have to say on this topic). PharmaVOICE is excited to once again be a part of this dynamic industry event that showcases multiple facets of the industry and to provide a platform — VIEW on Clinical Services — for sponsors and suppliers to raise their VOICEs on the trends that are shaping the clinical-trial outsourcing arena. We encourage you stop by our booth so we can learn what’s on your hot-topic list of trends to be covered in future issues of PharmaVOICE and its supporting VIEW publications. Best wishes to all for a productive and informative meeting. Taren Grom Editor Bigger than ever Letter from the editor VIEW on Clinical Services June 2005

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