The first speakers have been confirmed for the sixth annual BioPharmaDispatch conference that will take place in Sydney on 15 May.
The event will take place after the 2023-24 Budget with the theme - 'An opportunity for a wider discussion'.
The aim is to widen the event's focus to reflect the alignment of interests across the biopharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostic sectors.
It will be set against the backdrop of ongoing policy engagement by all three sectors, including the health technology assessment review and the proposed reform of the Prostheses List (PL).
The PL is the federal government's regulatory framework for the private funding of medical devices in Australia. It has been the focus of significant and highly contested policy debates in recent years with an ongoing attempt to impose a highly complex reform.
The PL reform is administered by the same area of the Department of Health and Aged Care that administers the PBS and will oversee the health technology assessment review.
The conference program will focus on policy and include some speakers who will share their own experiences and interactions with these processes and decision-makers.
Several speakers are already confirmed, including Carlo Montagner (Specialised Therapeutics), Pat Williams (Edwards Lifesciences), Ian Burgess (Medical Technology Association of Australia), Kate Holliday (Centre for Community-Driven Research), Richard Vines (Rare Cancers Australia), Ruth Colagiuri AM (Juvenile Arthritis Foundation Australia), Professor Andrew Wilson (Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee) and Katherine Burchfield (NPS MedicineWise).
More speakers are in the process of being confirmed.
Early-bird registration is now available. Complimentary registration is available for patients and patient group representatives (contact@dailydispatch.com.au for more information on this and the sponsorship prospectus).
