In case you haven’t noticed, this year’s Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Ethics and Compliance Congress is right around the corner (October 28-30, in Washington, DC)! And for 25 years now, the congress has always presented the same challenge: so many great sessions and so little time.

The plenary sessions are easy since we’re all gathered together in the same room. Once again, we’ll be listening hard to updates from OIG and FDA representatives, and taking detailed notes during the other plenary discussions, too. We’re particularly looking forward to “The Implications of AI for Lifesciences Ethics and Compliance Programs” on Day 1.

But deciding which mini summits to attend during the rest of the congress is a bit trickier. While they all will provide valuable insights, we’ve narrowed down our list to a manageable, “Magnificent 7” that we will be sure not to miss (queue theme music).

Day 1

8:00-8:50 Mini Summit 1: Federal Criminal and Civil Enforcement: Recent Highlights and Emerging Issues –  A former US Attorney and former DOJ Deputy Assistant Attorney General will discuss recent DOJ actions impacting the pharma and med device industries, along with emerging issues.

9:00-9:50 Mini Summit 8: Update on Medical Device Regulatory and Enforcement Actions – A great follow-on from the previous session, this panel discussion takes aim squarely at the medical device industry and its evolving landscape of regulations and recent enforcement actions.

10:00-10:50 Mini Summit 13: Hot Topics and Compliance Oversight in the Research and Development Area – This session looks to shed more light on an area that may not always receive the compliance attention that it deserves.

11:00-11:50 Mini Summit 18: Compliance Training on the Digital Frontier – OK. Guilty. It’s a session moderated by NXLevel Compliance Sr. VP Dan O’Connor.  But it’s also a place to hear from your colleagues and how they’ve delivered effective compliance training to “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” alike, using approaches and tools that are readily available in your company.

Day 2

9:00-9:50 Mini Summit 35: Privacy Top-Ten: Strategies and Tactics to Address Operational Impacts of the Evolving Privacy Landscape – Yet another session looking to address a crucial compliance topic in motion (this time, privacy).

10:00-10:50 Mini Summit 44: Evolving Risks in Medical Affairs – As many companies ask more of their Medical Affairs teams, the risks that those teams are exposed to have grown. This session will discuss how you can stay ahead of those risks.

11:00-11:50 Mini Summit 51: Negotiating DOJ expectations and business challenges while creating a “Culture of Compliance” – The title says it all. In fact, it may be a good job description for a compliance officer.

That’s our Magnificent 7, but you couldn’t go wrong attending any session at this congress.

And if you go, feel free to visit our shiny new booth in the Exhibit Hall. We will have examples of our latest compliance training solutions to share and are eager to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

See you in DC!