Please find a press release below about the 21st Century Medicines Conference held in Cardiff last week seeking to inspire a 'revolution of practical and real change' for the better in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals industries including the creation of a new medicines movement known as Friends Of Medicines Modernisation (FOMM). The conference organiser and author of a new book Taming the Big Pharma Monster (out 28th May 2019) - Hedley Rees - is available for interview. The output of the conference will be a white paper to go to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee Clerk for circulation to their Committee Members in early June. For a copy of the new book or for more information about the White Paper please get in touch!
Thanks,
Diana Ashlee
Literally PR
www.literallypr.com
PRESS RELEASE
21stCentury Conference Sparks New Medicines Movement Starting In Wales...
by speaking truth to power
Cardiff, Wales, 14thMay 2019: The Medicines for the 21st Century Conference, held last week (8thMay) at Techniquest in Cardiff Bay, marked the start of a "revolution of practical and real change" to the current catastrophic situation facing everyone involved in the pharmaceuticals industry - from drug developers to the patients.
The pharmaceutical industry is in meltdown. We constantly hear of eye watering drug prices, shortages, litigation over damaging side effects, dodgy marketing practices, economic adulteration, consent decrees, counterfeiting, patent games, price gouging, and much, much more... How can this be right? The short answer is, it's not.
The conference was part of a wider mission to show that the pharma industry is in meltdown, while creating change for the better, focusing on exploring the solutions to the headlines that we encounter daily* and empowering patients. Hedley Rees, director of PharmaFlow and author of Taming the Big Pharma Monster (Filament Publishing, May 28th2019) said:"Our aim is to broker transformational change for the better in the medicines industry. By giving a voice to users of medicines, patients and healthcare professionals, we will draw global attention to the root cause of the issues we see today, and more importantly, help plot a course to eradicating them."
The book and conference are companions to a change initiative called Friends Of Medicines Modernisation (FOMM) that involves educating users of medicines about the ins and outs of pharma. The output of the conference will be a white paper to go to the House of Commons Health and Social CareCommittee Clerk for circulation to their Committee Members in early June. There are also plans to create a not-for-profit called MEDS: Economical, Designed, Safe. The mission will be to provideinformation and support to patients and patient groups, so they can ask searching questions of whoever needs to act to reverse the decline in the medicines industry.
Speakers at this revolutionary conference included Carwyn Jones, recent former First Minister of Wales, broadcasterClare Forestier, andDr Janet Woodcock MD, who is responsible for approving medicines and medical products in the US, in her capacity as Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), FDA.
Professor (Dr) Minesh Khashu, Consultant Neonatologist and Professor of Perinatal Health, said:"This first conference on 21st century medicines brought together a wide variety of stakeholders including clinicians, patients, representatives of relevant charities, experts in medicines development and legal and regulatory experts, to name a few.There was high quality discourse throughout the day and delegates left with an eagerness to generate a social movement as Friends of Medicines Modernisation. We see this as the first event in a series of events that will facilitate a large scale change, which is much needed."
About Hedley Rees, author of Taming the Big Pharma Monster and organiser of the Medicines for the 21stCentury Conference
Hedley Rees is managing consultant at PharmaFlow Limited, a UK based consultancy specialising in operations and supply chain management within life science.Assignments span early stage clinical trial supply chains up to complex multi-product supply networks covering global territories.Hedley held senior positions at Bayer UK, British Biotech, Vernalis, Johnson & Johnson and OSI Pharmaceuticals. His skill set covers the range of competencies from strategic procurement, production and inventory control, distribution logistics, information systems and improvement.As an expert in production systems design and implementation, Hedley is a zealous advocate of the regulatory modernisation frameworks of FDA's 21st Century Modernization (Janet Woodcock MD) and the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH). He graduated from the University of Wales as a production engineer and holds an Executive MBA from Cranfield University School of Management. Hedley lives in Bridgend, South Wales.
Notes to editors
*https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48241663"US states file lawsuit accusing drugs firms of inflating costs"
*https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/trump-administration-requires-drug-makers-to-list-prices-in-tv-ads.html"White House requires Big Pharma to list drug prices on TV ads as soon as this summer"
*https://newrepublic.com/article/153864/innovation-drug-price-mythBig Pharma Is Pushing a Big Lie
Film and photography from the conference available upon request:helenlewis@literallypr.com
For an advance copy of Taming the Big Pharma Monster or to book an interview with Hedley Rees:dianashlee@literallypr.com