AAM’s annual conference offered familiar benefits to attendees as well as new, exciting experiences that encapsulated an industry rising to the challenges of a shifting health care landscape. New Orleans flavors and sounds permeated Access! 2019.
The “Step Up – Step Forward” theme captured the sense that our member organizations are taking a more proactive stance on the issues of the day, building a collaborative framework to protect and expand patient access to prescription drugs. Incoming AAM Board Chair Robert Stewart, President, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, encouraged all stakeholders in the industry to be courageous in the name of access.
The conference kicked off—literally—with a Super Bowl LIII watch party, which was enjoyed by everyone (not just the Patriots fans).
On Monday evening, the annual Champion of Access Award was presented to USPharmacopeia. Tuesday, following remarks from AAM CEO Chip Davis, husband-and-wife politics icons James Carville and Mary Matalin shared their perspectives on the new normal in Washington, D.C. A new series of debate-style forums energized the proceedings and engaged members and attendees with the tough choices facing executives and legislators.
Another of the many highlights of Access! 2019 was the Trends, Issues and Outlook presentation by Doug Long, Vice President, Industry Relations, IQVIA, who has appeared at every single AAM (and GPhA) conference over the years. This was his last such talk, and his discussion of the global and U.S. generics and biosimilars industry delivered actionable insight for decision-makers.
Chip Davis, Jr., JD, President & CEO, Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) welcomes Alex M. Azar II, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to Access! 2019.
The third and final day ended the conference on a high note with an appearance by Alex Azar, II, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who emphasized the value proposition of generics and biosimilars and the role of competition in the marketplace:
Building on the success of generics, and creating the same kind of success with biosimilars, will require not just efficient approval to enter the market, but also payment systems that can harness new competition. So I want to talk about both elements of a successful generic and biosimilars market today: our efforts at the FDA to foster competition through efficient, safe approvals, and our efforts to create the right incentives, and remove any wrong incentives, to support that competition.
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Join us at our next AAM meeting: GRx+Biosims 2019.
By Rachel Schwartz, AAM Communications Director