CPhI North America 2019 Keynote Speakers Announced

On April 16, 2019, CPhI North Americaannounced former US Senator Jeff Flake and Brandon Allgood, PhD, chief technology officer and co-founder at Numerate, as its keynote speakers for its 2019 event, taking place from April 30–May 2, 2019 in Chicago, IL.

Senator Flake has nearly two decades of experience on Capitol Hill in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. During his presentation, Flake will share his views on pharma manufacturing, healthcare innovation, and the direction of healthcare as he sees it under the current structure of government, as well as his viewpoint on scenarios beyond 2020.

“Both political parties understand the potency of healthcare as a campaign issue, but in the short term we can expect both parties to play to their base with no significant policy changes-especially in an era of divided government,” said Senator Flake on the current state of the industry in a CPhI North America press release. “And in the long-term, the pharmaceutical industry will likely continue its efforts to find new wonder drugs while policymakers grapple with impatient constituents struggling with high prescription drug costs.”

As the chief technology officer and co-founder of Numerate, a company that uses drug discovery data and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to accelerate and optimize the drug discovery process, Allgood currently leads research and development for Numerate’s AI platform. He has 15 years of experience in AI, mathematical modeling, and large-scale cloud and distributed computing. Allgood’s presentation will discuss innovation from a technology perspective as well as introduce the topic of AI and how it is already being used in the pharmaceutical industry. He will also share his opinion on where the industry needs to head, what organizations need to consider for the increasing implementation of AI, and what the industry is currently doing to get there.

“AI is changing the way pharma performs research and conducts business, but most within pharma still don't have a good grasp of what AI is (and isn't) and how it can be applied effectively,” said Allgood in the press release. “During my keynote, I will introduce the topic in a grounded way because those organizations and people that don't come up to speed on AI will likely be left behind.”

Both keynotes support the event’s central theme, “Fostering Innovation in Drug Development and Manufacturing in a New Era of Regulation”. Senator Flake’s keynote will take place on Tuesday, April 30 from 1:30pm–2:15pm, and Allgood will present his keynote during the same time slot on Wednesday, May 1. Both presentations will be open to all pass types. To learn more, visit www.CPhINorthAmerica.com.

Source: CPhI North America