DIA 2022 Global Annual Meeting recap.
DIA was back (in person) for the first time in over two years! And we were thrilled to represent Praxis at this year’s conference in Chicago this past June alongside veteran attendee Colleen Hatcher.
This year also marked more than 10 years for Praxis as a DIA booth presenter, as well as our 20th anniversary, allowing us to give attendees a refreshed reminder of who we are and what we do – engaging patients where they are and presenting them with new, meaningful clinical trial opportunities. Additionally, we were able to deploy our evolved branding for the very first time, which was both a great conversation starter and way to make our booth incredibly approachable.
As always, it was great to rub shoulders with industry colleagues old and new. A big topic of discussion was the ways in which everyone adapted to the COVID-affected world in order to continue serving patients well in the clinical trial space. We were also thrilled to learn how to continue building relationships with strategic partners to forge unique ways to enhance our patient recruitment and retention strategies. Attending DIA gave us the opportunity to attend sessions with speakers from the sponsors we currently work with, such as the “Diversity in Clinical Trials” presentation, where prioritizing diversity as an organization-wide personality trait versus a secluded department is how the sponsor wants to be represented and will seek out partners with a similar DNA.
That being said, diversity was a particular highlight and continued important trend sprinkled throughout both conference sessions and within individual organization booths. Everyone seems to be realizing the importance of diverse representation not only in clinical trial enrollment, but also in the makeup of clinical trial planning and design at every level of an organization. It’s not enough to make and set new enrollment goals. Rather, sponsors are being asked to incorporate the same representation in their leadership and partner with vendors with the same goals and values. Sponsors are also being encouraged to invest in new technologies, as there is a heightened focus on making standard trials available to all via a hybrid- or remote-friendly model – which we were able to see in action.
When all was said and done, the experience reinforced the importance of these in-person conferences to build and reinforce relationships with sponsors and vendors alike. We can’t wait to see what’s to come for 2023. Praxis looks forward to attending DIA next year!
