Observations from AAPS in Chicago

We spent a few days in Chicago attending the AAPS Convention. As usual, it was jammed with excellent science, tons of exhibitors, and great opportunities to catch up with old friends. The Tuesday evening “sessions” were especially enlightening.

Here are a few random observations, based on our admittedly limited (2-day) participation:

1. There are a LOT of CDMOs out there! Some have been around for many years, and will likely continue to do well. In fact, the announcement that Metrics will be acquired by Mayne created a certain amount of buzz in the exhibition hall. However, one has to wonder if so many CDMOs/CROs can survive as independent companies? Will there be industry consolidation? We certainly think so, and we’re just getting started on a paper discussing our views on the CDMO industry.
2. The exhibition hall was very quite at times. We couldn’t tell if it was the layout, or the fact that the seminars were quite a way away? The poster sessions seemed a little light as well.
3. Having attended AAPS Annual conventions since the 1990s, we can safely say that industry budget cuts have affected attendance. There were clearly fewer scientists from industry at the convention. We speculated that there were more students than industry scientists, but we have no data to support this.

Chicago is a great place for a convention, and we think BIO picked a great spot (again) for BIO 2013.