Global Safety in Practice: Thoughts on DIA Global 2020 Schedule

DIA Global has been moved to a virtual platform this year, for the first time ever, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DIA Annual Global Meeting is scheduled to begin this weekend, with content streaming Sunday, June 14, through Thursday, June 18. Much of the content will remain available on-demand long after the live conference ends. As is our tradition, I reviewed the schedule and wanted to share some of my thoughts on this year’s content. (If you don’t have a copy of the schedule, then you can access it here.)

Risk Management and Risk Minimization

I am pleased to see that Risk Management and Risk Minimization conversations are represented in this year’s DIA Global meeting. As we’ve discussed on the blog previously, PV Risk Management continues to be one of the areas of increased focus in regulatory inspections. MHRA even prioritizes products that have additional risk minimization measures for inspection. Risk Minimization carries huge opportunities in improving patient safety, so hearing from the experts in the following sessions promises to be interesting:

  • Digital Risk Minimization: How can we Advance Adoption? (Thursday 8am)
  • Advancing Risk Management: What can Evidence-Based Practices to Disseminate Healthcare Evidence into Practice Teach Us? (On-demand)
  • Unblinding the Face of the Local Safety Officer (On-Demand)

FDA Participation

Health Authorities and Regulators have always been participants in the DIA Meetings, but this year, FDA, NIH and CDER representatives are coming out in full force. The conference was originally planned to be located in Washington DC, not far from FDA’s headquarters in Silver Spring, MD, so it isn’t surprising to see a heavier presence this year. Whatever the cause, hearing directly from regulators is always a valuable way to gain valuable insight on regulations and best practices. Some sessions we’re interested in from FDA:

  • Patients First! How FDA is Making Patients a Priority (Monday 11am)
  • FDA’s Considerations on Benefit-Risk Assessment for Human Drug Review (Monday 3:30 pm)
  • FDA Pre-Market Assessment Program (Tuesday 4pm)

Global Safety Collaboration in Practice

So much of what we discuss when it comes to patient safety is ensuring consistency and harmony around the globe. There has never been a better time than 2020 to remember that we are a global community, and that we can share information and support one another. In this vein, I recommend the following topics, because they all have practical and sometimes innovative solutions for searching out global solutions to patient safety:

  • Getting Real About Data Sharing for Drug Development and Drug Safety: What COVID-19 is Teaching us about the Possibilities and How to Move from Anomaly to Precendent (On-demand)
  • ICH 30th Anniversary Series: Advancing Pharmaceutical Safety (Wednesday 9:30am)
  • Report of CIOMS DILI Working Group (Wednesday 11:30am)