Welcome to the industry meeting place for exchanging real-world solutions for improving speed to market, cost, and quality. This week in Providence, RI, you will have an opportunity to explore challenges, uncover solutions, and develop opportunities at the largest and most highly respected event that is solely dedicated to biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This year, the conference features more than 55 presentations with new, previously unpublished data — and many more to choose from, including

• Updates from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on biosimilars and quality by design (QbD), as well as additional insights from leading industry players and an ex-FDA consultant
• The latest advances in cell culture and recovery and purification
• A complete day of sessions on antibody–drug conjugate development and production
• Advances in the development of flexible facilities and processes
• Life-cycle planning, including the use of comparability and QbD to smooth regulatory pathways.

Attendees can benefit from an expanded roster of preconference symposia (see below) to help them gain new skills and update their knowledge in a number of areas, learning from more than 180 case studies and cutting-edge presentations and consulting with more than 150 providers in the exhibit hall. This is your chance to develop valuable partnerships through rapid-fire “speed networking” and continued consultations with fellow attendees through our LinkedIn group online. With all these opportunities for gaining new knowledge, meeting new people, and having important discussions about the biopharmaceutical industry’s future, we know you will benefit from attending. We appreciate your participation and wish you a wonderful week!

Please provide comments and suggestions about the program to any IBC staff member. We welcome your feedback to continuously improve this great event.

—The IBC Life Sciences BPI Event Team
Ellen C. King (head of the bioprocessing series) and Barry Walsh (conference director and project leader)