The Drug Information Association (DIA) will host the seventh Canadian Annual Meeting from November 2 to 4, 2009 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

The annual meeting will address changes within the Canadian and global regulatory environments, efficiency and safety in the development of therapeutics, the latest domestic and international processes in conducting clinical trials, monitoring of therapeutics, and transparency. Parallel tracks in clinical development, safety/pharmacovigilance, and regulatory affairs will include sessions on role of REBS in the protection of human subjects: special populations; evolving safety science, development in Biosimilars in Canada, US, Europe, ICH, and WHO; pharmacogenomics; pharmacovigilance operations; role in facilitating patient access; site audits and inspections; patient risk management; electronic interface with Health Canada 2009-2010; ethical issues in clinical trials; new directions in safety outcome research: DSEN, sentinel, ENCEPP; and orphan drugs.

Pre-Meeting tutorials will focus on design and analysis of cluster randomization trials in clinical research; risk communication; and Health Canada's initiatives to strengthen the natural health products programme: focus on 'eTools'.

Paul Crotty, general manager, IMS Canada, and Bob Nakagawa, assistant deputy minister, Pharmaceutical Services, British Columbia Ministry of Health Services, will deliver the keynote address.

"The biopharmaceutical and related sectors face many challenges, including the need for increased transparency, the unpredictable global economy, and the evolution of drug development," explains Programme co-chair Agnes V Klein, director, Center for Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals and Biotherapeutics, Biologics and Genetics, Therapies directorate, HPFB, Health Canada. "The seventh Canadian Annual Meeting will address all of these challenges."

DIA serves more than 30,000 professionals involved in the biopharmaceutical industry and regulatory affairs worldwide. Through its domestic and international meetings, training courses, workshops and webinars, DIA provides a neutral global forum for the exchange of information critical to the advancement of the drug discovery and lifecycle management processes. DIA headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania, USA, and with offices in Switzerland, Japan, India and China.