Show Preview: Medical Product Outsourcing Symposium
Industry experts will offer advice on minimizing risks and maximizing benefits.
The MPO Staff
Medical device manufacturing industry professionals will gather Oct. 27-28 for the next Medical Product Outsourcing Symposium.
“Mitigating Risk Throughout the Outsourcing Process: Today’s Most Critical Manufacturing Decisions for Medical Device Companies” is the theme for this fall’s event, which returns to the Conference Center at Waltham Woods in Waltham, Mass. The two-day program will bring together OEMs, contract manufacturers, suppliers, consultants and members of the financial community for a series of in-depth and interactive sessions geared toward the industry’s specific needs.
The first day will kick off with a keynote address by Maggie Pax, vice president of business development at Bedford, Mass.-based MicroCHIPS, Inc., a company focused on pioneering intelligent implanted devices designed to improve the health of people with chronic conditions. The title of this informative presentation is “Exploring a Start-up Model: Maximizing Benefits and Minimizing Risks.”
Other issues covered during the daylong program will include managing the total product life cycle; supplier relationship management; software solutions; entrepreneurship, risk mitigation and partnerships; early stage development risks; and metrics used for sourcing decisions. A networking luncheon is included, and a cocktail reception sponsored by Covidien will wrap up the first day of the symposium.
The second day—a half-day session—will begin with an update on the medical manufacturing markets in the economic downturn, followed by a presentation on improving profitability by outsourcing, a discussion on ways to accelerate time to market and minimize risk, and a workshop on how to develop reimbursement strategies, sponsored by the Medical Device Manufacturers Association.
Both days will include networking breaks to meet and mingle with speakers, make new contacts and interact with colleagues.
Other key speakers include Christopher Oleksy, president, ATEK Medical; Tom Black, vice president, B. Braun OEM Division; Tom Burns, vice president of sales and marketing, Tegra Medical; Rick Desmarais, worldwide supply chain director, DePuy Mitek; John Purlee, director of global sourcing, Abbott Diabetes Care; Andres Rochwerger, global sourcing manager, Boston Scientific Corp.; Carl Resteghini, vice president of global materials and finished goods, Covidien; and Benjamin Dunn, managing director of Covington Associates.