COG Bay Area 2024 Meeting Review
October 2024 saw the PBC Group host the annual Clinical Outsourcing Group Bay Area meeting. The event took place at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame, San Francisco. The 2-day meeting covered a wide range of topics related to clinical trials and outsourcing, featuring keynote speeches from industry experts on trends in patient-centricity, diversity and inclusion, data management, quality, and much more.
The conference opened with a CMO Keynote Interactive Panel on "Putting Patients First: The Imperative of Patient-Centricity in Clinical Trials." This was followed by keynotes delivered by Ruma Bhagat of Genentech on diversity and inclusion, Quan Doan of SDC on leveraging patient profiles, to name a few.
After the morning break, the conference split into two streams: Clinical Outsourcing Confusion, and Sites & CRO Selection. Both featured panels and interactive sessions, including "Outsourcing Clinical Trials: Navigating the Complexities and Confusion" and "CRO Selection for Rare Disease Studies: Key Considerations in a Specialized Landscape."
One of the many highlights from COG Bay Area was the CEO Keynote Interactive Panel on "Fuelling the Future: CEO Perspectives on Funding Clinical-Stage Biotechs." With a panel of CEOs from emerging biopharma companies in the Bay Area region.
The agenda truly delivered insights across the clinical trial lifecycle. From optimizing data collection with a panel featuring experts from Asher Biotherapeutics, Abcuro, and SDC, to building effective partnerships between trial sponsors and investigators with Dorothy Kwok of Bodyport and Kim Du, the conference tackled critical areas for trial outsourcing, regulatory compliance, financing, and operations.
COG Bay Area welcomed a diverse range of attendees, with key international players such as Genentech, Takeda, and Merck represented, as well as representatives from the region's emerging biopharma sector.
The conference concluded with a Closing Keynote Panel & Workshop on "Revolutionizing Clinical Trials: Innovations in Trial Design for Faster, Smarter, and More Efficient Drug Development," featuring insights from Jenelle Lin of Vir Biotechnology and Jasmina Jankicevic of Rapt Therapeutics.
Of those who attended, 80% were Director level or above, with others holding Senior Management roles. As per the COG Series promise, the meeting achieved over a 2:1 ratio onsite between trial sponsors and vendors, this ensured high-level discussions and valuable networking opportunities.
COG Bay Area will return next year, in October 2025, in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
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