2008 Product Show
Last Year's Product Show:
Articles from Dec 07 Newsletter
- Annual Product Show Does it Again!
- Product Show Educational Program Attracts Record Turnout
- Career Fair Strikes Gold at Product Show
Annual Product Show Does it Again!
by Brian Hagopian
When you think it is impossible to improve upon last year's product show, this year's show exceeded even the committee's expectations. Clearly, word got out about last year's show, making this year's show even bigger and better. Gillette Stadium, home of the threetime (soon to be four-time) world champion New England Patriots provided an exciting and spacious backdrop once again (and we've signed a contract to host the show at Gillette for the next two years.). The combination of two excellent keynote speakers, unlimited parking, six well-attended educational programs, over 260 exhibitors, a career fair, and great food produced a show that surpassed last year's show! And this year, the Product Show website (www.ispeboston.org) was in full swing, making it easy for both exhibitors and attendees to register for the show.
Here are a few statistics about this year's show. Attendance was up by 15 percent over last year - to a best-ever 1,600 registered guests - and up by over 75 percent since the show moved to Gillette two years ago. The show offered afternoon and evening keynote speakers, over 260 exhibitors displaying their latest products and technologies, a continuous series of educational seminars (see related article) and an expanded career fair, with HR representatives from 15 companies on hand to chat with attendees (see related article).
Each attendee received a complimentary raffle ticket at registration. Prizes were given away throughout the day, with lucky winners sharing over $1,500 worth of gift certificates. In addition, several exhibitors raffled off tickets, Patriots' gear, and other valuable items during the show. Stadium tours were available for a limited number of lucky people who were able to see one of Gillette's luxury boxes, the visitor's locker room, and step onto the artificial turf at field level. Regardless of whether you exhibited or attended, this show really has become a "can't miss" event. If you m ade the time to attend, you know what we're talking about. If you missed it, you missed something really superb. Gillette was a buzz of activity all day long, kicking off with afternoon Keynote Speaker Deborah Shelton from Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. Ms. Shelton gave a great talk to a large crowd on the subject of bio-generics, a topic that is evolving and will be of great interest to the local community for years to come. Our evening Keynote Speaker, Dave Petko from Auxilium, spoke on changes occurring through ASTM in the area of validation. Registration for the six educational programs broke all prior records, with at least 100 people pre-registered for each of the talks (see related article).
It was great to see the entire Boston Chapter Board of Directors at the show as well as most members of the Advisory Board. If you are looking to meet with the brain trust of the Boston Area Chapter, this is probably the best place to do so. Not to mention the opportunity to network with 1600 or so of your peers in the industry!
The Chapter took full advantage of Gillette's amenities, holding seminar s upstairs in the luxury box level, arranging for stadium tours, and inviting attendees to relax outdoors in the "red seats" overlooking the field. With the great weather, sitting outside in the stadium was a real treat. The natural light pouring in through three stories high windows created a bright, lively, and vibrant exhibit area and once again, the food at Gillette was sumptuous and plentiful. And while the parking lot immediately in front of the show filled up quickly, free parking remained available for another 50,000 or so cars!
The Product Show Committee should be commended for putting on a great event this year. The show was successful because so many people devoted long hours during the planning stages of the show.
Please go out of your way to thank the following Chapter members for their extraordinary efforts in helping to make this show a success: Tim Crowley from Sentrol, Doyle Johnson from UMass Medical, Mike Denault from Denault Associates, Mike Matton from New England Sales, Mark Sitcoske from High Purity New England, Peter Teague from Boston Scientific and Brian Hagopian from Fluid Solutions/ Mar Cor Purification. Thanks as well to the Educational Program Committee for the great job they did in putting the programs together. And last but not least, special thanks to our past and current Chapter Presidents, whose leadership was unwavering throughout the year. Thanks Mike and Rick!
If you exhibited at or attended the show, you should have received a survey so you can tell us what you liked and how we can improve. If you haven't filled out a survey, please do so! It's the only way we can make the show better for you. If you didn't fill out a survey but have a suggestion for us, would like to learn more about future shows, or want to become part of this or another Chapter committee, please contact us at ispe@camihq.com. Giving your time to the Boston Area Chapter helps the Chapter grow and prosper and is a very rewarding experience.
With the glow of a successful show still in fresh in our memories, it's already time to start planning for next year at Gillette. To keep the show fresh every year, new ideas are already being considered to make this event even better. The success of this year's show makes planning for next year's a lot easier! The Product Show Committee is proud for having organized what many exhibitors have described as the best local ISPE Product Show in the country. It's going to be a real challenge for us to top this show next year but I know we'll succeed! To those who came and participated, thanks and stay tuned.
Product Show Educational Program Attracts Record Turnout
by Peter J.B. Teague
The 16th Annual Product Show held at Gillette Stadium on October 17th was indeed a record setting event for the Boston Area Chapter, with eight successful educational programs drawing over 530 attendees and "fans" of ISPE. Kick-off took place at 1pm with Keynote Speaker Deborah M. Shelton, Special Counsel with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, who flew in from Washington, DC. Ms. Shelton concentrates her practice in FDA law, with a particular emphasis on regulatory issues relevant to the pharma, biotech, and medical device industries. Nearly 90 attendees listened attentively to her information-packed presentation, The Hot and Heavy Debate: Biosimilars in the US and the Potential Reshaping of the Biotechnology Landscape. Some key points that Deborah covered included the status of federal laws governing biogenerics, abbreviated approval pathways, and the FDA's current opinion on the subject.
The "first quarter" of the program included Greg Rutlic and Paige Kane, both of Wyeth Biotech, who presented Back to the Future: GEP, GAMP, & You, which covered such timely topics as Good Engineering Practice and what's new in the ISPE GAMP 5 guide, as well as some great examples.
George Dainis (Industrial Facilities Design, Inc.) spoke on Capturing the Need: Preparing a User Requirement Specification (URS). Nearly 50 persons attended George's talk, which included something for everyone, as he explained how a thorough URS document is extremely important to the success of a project for both the vendor and the end user. He also gave examples of detailed requirements for a URS, covering items to include and - just as important - those to avoid.
Jack Greene (Alkermes) presented Using ISA-88 and GAMP to Reduce Plant Startup Timelines. This was a great talk on S-88, as Jack included everything from definitions and traditional C&Q (Commissioning & Qualification) approaches for beginners, to advanced ASTM E-55 C&Q hybrid models and lessons learned from his years of experience with the subject.
Next, three experts teamed-up for a state-of-the-art presentation on monitoring water systems for the presence of rouge and creating a novel predictive maintenance program. Peter Petrillo (Millennium Facilities Resources, Inc.), James Dean Vogel, P.E. (Process Facilities Services, Inc.) and Jeffrey Pouliot (Amgen) presented an extremely interesting talk, while a record 100 attendees followed closely along. Is Rouge Really a Problem? A Science-Based Approach to Clean Steam and WFI System Maintenance started with background information on rouge and passivation. This introduction, combined with analytical test methods, and a great case study with new data, proved to be a "big hit" with the audience.
A 5pm "halftime" keynote speaker was planned this year and was successful in helping to draw additional attendees during the second half of the show. David Petko (Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) was actually brought back by popular demand, as a result of attendee feedback from online ISPE surveys. David's presentation on The End of Validation as We Know It: A Science and Risk Based Approach to Commissioning and Qualification at the joint ISPE Boston Area/New England Chapter session in June was so successful that he gladly returned for an encore presentation. The ASTM E55.03 working group (which David co-chairs) was responsible for releasing the new ASTM E2500 standard on specifying, designing and verifying pharmaceutical manufacturing systems and equipment. David's talk included up-to-date information on the new standard and he was later joined by speaker Graham Wrigley, PhD, who walked through a case study on the subject from Pfizer, where he is a Senior Manager.
Chuck Crumpton (Medpoint, LLC) flew in from Greenville, SC for a super "fourth quarter wrap-up," ending a great day (and night!) of presentations by teaching attendees to Make Your Career Rock! It was certainly a great title for a great talk. Although it was scheduled later into the evening and thus fewer persons were in attendance, the audience didn't want to leave when the presentation concluded! Chuck stayed well past his scheduled time just to answer questions and to meet one-on-one with many persons seeking to advance their careers. Rumor had it that he was giving autographs too!
Overall, the sessions were very educational and certainly timely for the industry. The speakers were presented with ISPEpersonalized gifts and received great ratings in the "fifth quarter report" (i.e. the after-show survey) as well. Several of them commented that this was the most fun show they have presented at and the audiences were great! This win was only possible, however, through a team effort from ISPE Education Program Committee (EPC) members, who worked extremely hard to make our "game day" a success! Many thanks to our entire team!
If you would like to join the EPC and help out with our upcoming monthly programs, as well as Product Show 2008, please contact Chapter Manager, Amy Poole at 781-647-ISPE or ispe@camihq.com. I hope to see you soon at one of our upcoming ISPE Boston Area Chapter Educational Programs and also next year at an even BIGGER and better Product Show 2008!
Career Fair Strikes Gold at Product Show
by Brian Hagopian
This year's Product Show boasted the Chapter's first dedicated effort to host an active career fair during the Show. At prior Shows, areas were made available for companies to post open positions and for candidates to drop off resumes. Last year, two companies brought their HR folks. This year we wanted to expand on the concept, so we sought out the human resources departments of major companies in the area and asked them to bring their HR people to this year's "Career Connection." The result was a resounding success, with 13 companies helping to make this year's career fair a great one.
Gillette Stadium has plenty of space, so a semi-private area was created for the companies to convey their message. Just walking through the area, the Career Connection had an energy about it and was bustling with activity throughout the day. The Product Show provided an excellent opportunity for each company to meet a large number of qualified candidates and discuss open positions and career advancement. Our thanks to the HR departments at Alkermes, Shire, Wyeth, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Biogen Idec, Abbott, Lonza, Genzyme, Vertex, PMA Consultants, Acceleron Pharma, and New England Controls for participating.
After speaking with the participating companies following the Show, the overwhelming consensus was that the Product Show represented both a great venue and a great value for their companies and they would definitely be back next year. Since word will surely spread about this year's success, the Product Show committee is already planning to allocate additional space for more companies next year. To those who participated this year - again, thanks. To participate next year, contact the Chapter office at ispe@camihq.com
Page last updated: 21 August 2008