| Wednesday, October 18 | |
| Location: Pacific Ballroom, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina | |
| Download Conference Directory (link will be active once directory is available) | |
| 7:00-8:40 a.m. | Registration & Continental Breakfast Sponsored by:  |
| 8:40-8:45 a.m. | Welcome Address Speakers:
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| 8:45-9:00 a.m. | Welcome to San Diego An introduction to the medical device manufacturing community within the region.
Speaker: Scott Johnson, President, DeviceAlliance |
| 9:00-9:45 a.m. | State of the Industry A comprehensive analysis of the latest trends within the medtech manufacturing industry. Future product directions brought on by demographic and financial changes will form the core of the presentation. Also, concerns and considerations relevant to the evolving OEM and supplier relationship will be discussed.
Speaker: Anthony S. Freeman, President, A.S. Freeman Advisors LLC |
| 9:45-10:30 a.m. | Reshoring Production Capacities? Manufacturing Automation to the Rescue! Organizations in manufacturing are rethinking their overall strategy to ensure a robust supply chain for both internal and external capacities. Many of these companies are utilizing automation in various capacities to combat labor shortages, improve efficiencies, scale, and/or improve quality overall. Understanding how automation can help your organization is important when identifying and choosing the proper partner(s). In addition, ensuring proper resources are allocated for the management, implementation, and maintenance of the systems for a successful execution is critical.
Speaker: Ryan Moran, Director of Automation, SMC |
| 10:30-11:15 a.m. | Networking Break Sponsored by:  |
| 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. | The Ever-Evolving Landscape of Medical Device Plastics Manufacturing The healthcare industry relies heavily on plastic for the fabrication of the medical devices used in everything from diagnostic tests to surgical instruments to patient monitors. While molding has been used as a primary method with which to shape these materials into parts for critical products, it is no longer the only protocol used. The increasing interest in additive manufacturing for both the development and prototyping phase as well as for fully finished production parts presents an alternative for designers to leverage different capabilities. What does the future hold for both fabrication methods? What impact will sustainability and recycling efforts have? How will material offerings change? This panel discussion will focus on these questions and more. Moderator: Bryan Barrera, CEO, LC Innovation International Corp. Panelists:
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| 12:15-1:30 p.m. | Networking Luncheon Sponsored by:  |
| 1:30-2:30 p.m. | Supply Chain Recovery: Are We There Yet? As we look at the medical device supply chain today, where do the pain points still exist? How do these concerns need to be addressed? Further, what lessons were learned from the pandemic and the last few years of challenges that can help the industry develop a stronger supply chain going forward? This panel will discuss these issues in a candid manner and take questions from audience members who are uncertain about some aspects themselves.
Moderator: Patrick Lynch, Principal, chainLEANk solutions Panelists:
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| 2:30-3:15 p.m. | Sterilization Struggles: Identifying the Best Process for Your Project Sterilization currently has a spotlight shining on it, due primarily to questions around the use of ethylene oxide (EtO) and its potential environmental risks. While EtO is used for about half of all medical devices, a variety of other options exist and more are being introduced. As such, it can be challenging to identify which process is best for a new product so leaving this decision until late in the product’s development can be a fatal mistake. This session will explore the most popular sterilization options, their downsides, and the hidden costs that can be associated with each. Often overlooked considerations will also be shared. Speaker: Darci Diage, M.S., Founder and CEO, TPL Consulting |
| 3:15-4:00 p.m. | Networking Break Sponsored by:  |
| 4:00-5:00 p.m. | The Long, Arduous Road to Medtech Innovation Success Everyone pushes for cutting edge innovation when it comes to healthcare, but the path to get there is filled with obstacles. From regulatory to reimbursement, it can be challenging to navigate successfully. While “me too” products are plentiful, the truly unique innovations are few and far between. Is it because there’s little reward for it? Is it simply too hard to succeed? This panel of experts will field questions on strategies for success while also addressing questions from the audience who may be struggling with their own path for bringing innovation to market. Moderator: Julie Schulte, MBA, Co-Founder & CEO, Chamfr Panelists:
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| 5:00-7:00 p.m. | Networking Reception Join attendees, speakers, and exhibitors for drinks and hors d’oeuvres during an evening reception. Take advantage of the setting for networking and conversation with peers within the medtech manufacturing industry.
 Sponsored by: |
| Thursday, October 19 | |
| Location: Pacific Ballroom, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina | |
| 7:30-9:00 a.m. | Registration & Continental Breakfast Sponsored by:  |
| 9:00-9:45 a.m. | Labor Force Focus: Building a Robust Talent Pipeline In the race to commercialize innovative life-enhancing and life-saving medical devices, OEMs must possess a robust talent strategy to ensure they have the skills necessary to successfully bring products to market. But in a challenging labor market in which specialized skills are increasingly harder to come by, how can human capital and procurement leaders build a sustainable talent pipeline capable of meeting their resourcing needs? With competition for digital and other critical skills heating up, how do they optimize a buy-build-borrow approach that offers agility and access to talent? Highlights from this session will include top medtech trends and their impact on the need for specialized talent; strategies to maintain an agile and innovative workforce; tactics for attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent; and the role of talent partners in supporting workforce development. Speaker: John M. Ebeid, SVP, Randstad Life Sciences |
| 9:45-10:30 a.m. | Reshoring: Rethinking Your Global Supply Chains Time to Act. That’s what many companies are feeling now that global supply chain risks and vulnerabilities have been exposed by the pandemic. Shipments have been delayed from Asia. Freight rates are volatile. The trade war with China is ongoing. Markets have changed and demand has shifted wildly. The economy is uncertain. Geopolitics are unstable. It’s time to rethink, plan, and act. Speaker: Rosemary Coates, Founder and Executive Director, Reshoring Institute |
| 10:30-11:15 a.m. | Networking Break Sponsored by:  |
| 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. | Risk or Reward? The Opportunities and Challenges with Digital Medtech Medical devices are being made smarter and becoming connected to the healthcare infrastructure. While this brings an array of benefits, it also poses challenges for medical device developers. Do cybersecurity and patient data breach risks outweigh the benefits provided with intelligent innovations? This panel will discuss the role of digital devices in today’s healthcare space, unique ways these technologies can be leveraged for maximum benefit, and best practices for addressing the challenges that can be associated with them. Moderator: David Sheppard, Managing Director, MedWorld Advisors Panelists:
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| 12:15 p.m. | End of Conference |
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| * All session times, speakers, and content are subject to change. | |