Our CONVERGE conference in Philadelphia has always been about highlighting the innovation that is driving the convergence of technologies and of overall goals in healthcare.
This year, July 31, Aug. 1, however, the conversation will occur on a whole, new plane. For the first time, we are aiming to dig deeper into the idea of convergence by looking at a particularly daunting challenge in healthcare: cancer.
Here’s a snapshot of the impressive speakers we have been able to attract to CONVERGE.
- Rebecca Kaul, the chief innovation officer, MD Anderson Cancer Center. She will be our Day 1 opening keynote. Kaul, whose roots are in Pennsylvania, will address how digital health is being leveraged at this premier cancer center.
- John Quackenbush, professor, and director of the Center for Cancer Computational Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He will kick off the conference on Day 2. Quackenbush co-founded Genospace that was acquired by HCA’s Global Cancer Institute earlier this year.
- Greg Simon, president, Biden Cancer Initiative, who previously led the Cancer Moonshot program in the White House. We will host a fireside chat with Simon.
- Clifton Leaf, editor-in-chief, Fortune, author and prominent cancer survivor who will deliver the closing keynote.
Battling cancer requires more than just effective therapeutics. Humanity must break down silos, collaborate, and wield the multiple weapons that we have access to here and now to take down this scourge famously called “The Emperor of All Maladies” by author and oncologist Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee.
These include but are not limited to digital health, machine learning, precision medicine, genomics, and next-gen diagnostics. We must also answer thorny questions on Right to Try for patients and the moral dilemma posed by gene editing.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The CONVERGE agenda covers this wide swath of topics key to managing, battling and hopefully, one day, overcoming this killer disease.
If you think artificial intelligence, precision medicine and data analytics will be a critical weapon in our arsenal against cancer, head to the city of brotherly love to hear from senior executives at IBM Watson Health, Independence Blue Cross, Syapse, Foundation Medicine, Flatiron Health and Tempus.
If you are wondering which startups are worth investing in, come to Philly and meet with those exhibiting at our startup showcase.
Speakers from multiple provider and research organizations and life science companies such as the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Sidney Kimmel Medical College & Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Johnson & Johnson will be on hand to discuss data analytics, how pharma is using digital health and value-based care in oncology.
There’s still time to attend and purchase tickets, and the chance to have four hours and then some of networking time with peers and innovators in the field.
Come July 31, MedCity News will be welcoming these passionate speakers with deep insight into sparring with cancer to Philadelphia.
Hope to see you there.
