12th Annual Clinical Trials in Oncology West Coast 2025

The West Coast's leading Clinical Trials in Oncology Conference showcasing the most efficient methods, strategies and solutions of running oncology trials.

14 - 15

May

2025
  • San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront, Burlingame, CA, USA
  • Complimentary
  • Why attend?
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  • Advisory Board
  • Speakers
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Why attend?

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR 2025?

What do we have for 2025?

We have introduced and dedicated a whole new stream on patient recruitment and engagement which focuses on harnessing strategizes, communication and latest trends in Oncology clinical trials. The event will include the top industry experts to share their latest struggles and successes.

 

250+

Attendees

20+

Exhibitors

20+

Speakers

250+

Attendees

20+

Exhibitors

20+

Speakers

See What It's All About

Agenda

  • 14 May 2025
  • 15 May 2025
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Streams

Stream one

STREAM A: Clinical Operations

Stream two

STREAM B: Patient Recruitment and Engagement

11 AM

Improving clinical trial representation to increase access to trials

  • Sharing best practices for recruiting and integrating populations that are not well represented in oncology trials
  • Lessons from Advancing Inclusive Research Site Alliance collaborations
  • What strategies that pharma/biotech and vendor companies can design and support to help sites reach a more diverse patient population

Speakers

Meghan McKenzie
Director of Health Equity and Clinical Research, Chief Diversity Office, Genentech

11:30 AM

The value of hope

  • Research and development initiatives have long acknowledged that patient participation in clinical research is driven by "hope for a cure" as a key incentive
  • Patient reported outcomes, subgroup analyses, "exit" interviews at study conclusions, help contextualize the value of trial data within a scientific, clinical, and humanistic framework
  • Within oncology indications particularly, selective patient targeting, innovative trial designs to accelerate approval, and assessments that reflect how patients "feel, function or survive" are highlighted as distinguishing characteristics.

Speakers

Jim Eamma
Executive Director, Therapeutic Strategy, Oncology, Worldwide Clinical Trials

12 PM

PANEL DISCUSSION: Innovatively progressing patient-centric oncology trials in 2025

  • Strategies for advancing patient-centric trials in 2025, focusing on innovative approaches to enhance trial design and execution
  • Streamlining and improving patient involvement, communication, and the simplification of processes in trials to minimize patient burden
  • Sharing best practices to foster an engaged patient journey, ensuring patient retention throughout the trial process
  • Translating technology to tangible outcomes: What are the latest innovative technologies helping patients throughout the trial

Speakers

Sarah Schiltz
Board Member, Cancer CAREpoint and Patient Advocate, National Cancer Institute
Gay Crawford
Co-Founder, Cancer CAREpoint
Lloryn Hubbard
Director Clinical Trial Diversity and Patient Voice, Daiichi Sankyo
Meghan McKenzie
Director of Health Equity and Clinical Research, Chief Diversity Office, Genentech

12:30 PM

Technology spotlight

12:45 PM

Lunch and networking

1:45 PM

Clinical trial diversity and how it intersects with patient-centric approaches and inclusive trial designs

Speakers

Cynthia C. Obiozor
Oncology Clinical Research Medical Executive Director, Amgen

2:15 PM

Reserved for event sponsor

2:45 PM

Transforming patient enrolment campaigns to make a meaningful impact on lifesaving research

  • Integrating the right biomarker to narrow relevant patient groups and optimize and personalize disease management
  • Engaging with the oncology community and advocacy groups to grow involvement of well-informed patients
  • Leveraging investigator expertise for pragmatic trial designs and patient identification
  • Building the evidence, from natural history to endpoint development, to support informed decisions by health authorities

Speakers

Zelanna Goldberg
Chief Medical Officer, Replicate Bioscience

3:15 PM

Afternoon refreshments and networking

3:45 PM

PATIENT VOICE: My Story: How clinical trials have impacted my life (breast cancer at 31, lymphoma and eye disease)

  • Why clinical trials matter for patients
  • My Experience in Clinical Trials
  • Importance of media, personal stories, outreach
  • Lessons learned

Speakers

Gay Crawford
Co-Founder, Cancer CAREpoint

4:15 PM

Reserved for event sponsor

4:45 PM

CLOSING KEYNOTE: Integrating patient perspectives to reduce patient burden and enhancing early oncology trial designs

  • Empowering study teams with methodologies to integrate patient perspectives in study protocols
  • Transformative case study on how patient insights reshaped an oncology trial

Speakers

Sarah Hamirani
Portfolio Director, AbbVie

5:15 PM

Chairperson’s closing remarks

END OF DAY 1 AND NETWORKING DRINKS

8 AM

Registration and refreshments

8:20 AM

Chairperson’s opening remarks

Speakers

Keya Watkins
SVP - Catalyst Oncology, Catalyst Clinical Research

8:30 AM

KEYNOTE: Developing resilient clinical trials: Lessons learned in CAR-T for ped-young adult and adult oncology trials

  • Working with both cooperative groups and biotechs in a harmonious way
  • How to streamline processes and improve trial design
  • Avoiding pitfalls which can have lasting global impacts
  • Setting up trials for offsite patients and ensuring remote data can be obtained

Speakers

Jennifer Willert
Global Clinical Development Medical Director (CDMD), Novartis Cell and Gene/Hematology

9 AM

Reserved for ICON

9:30 AM

PANEL DISCUSSION: Where is the oncology clinical trial industry headed in 2025?

  • Navigating new regulations around clinical trials smoothly and successfully
  • Predictions for how the global markets will impact US studies
  • The impact of artificial intelligence: how far can we expect to move forward in the next 12 months?
  • Patient centricity in clinical trials: how can burden be reduced in order to make trials easier for patients to participate in?

Speakers

Anthony Fermin
Clinical Program Director, Genentech
Keya Watkins
SVP - Catalyst Oncology, Catalyst Clinical Research
Zelanna Goldberg
Chief Medical Officer, Replicate Bioscience
Jennifer Willert
Global Clinical Development Medical Director (CDMD), Novartis Cell and Gene/Hematology

10 AM

Global virtual clinical trial supplies: The benefits of implementing a virtual supply strategy for commercially available medications and ancillary supplies

  • Optimize employ effort
  • Minimize waste and risk
  • Appreciate significant savings
  • Sustainably friendly

Speakers

Robbie Hill
Director, Business Development, Mercalis

10:30 AM

Morning refreshments and networking sponsored Aixial

11 AM

New trial locations: Establishing an operational presence in new markets outside EU7

  • When the bandwidth for trials in certain places is limited, what are other regions that can host them?
  • Can we find new places to do studies?
  • Are there locations that replace Russia, Ukraine and Israel running trials are difficult?
  • A look at Asia Pacific, tapping into opportunity in new areas

Speakers

Faisal Rahman
Senior Medical Director, Eikon Therapeutics

11:30 AM

How to measurably increase operational efficiency in clinical trials

  • Identify and eliminate operational inefficiencies that cause bottlenecks in clinical trials
  • Organize, implement and maintain the coordination between investigators and study teams, sponsors, and other key operational partners to conserve resources and time to accelerate progress in cancer research
  • Implement continuous examination and optimization

Speakers

Julie Martin
President & CEO, Scimega

12 PM

PANEL DISCUSSION: The pursuit of success: Driving your drug from the bench to bedside

  • Defining what do we do well and what could be improved – EU vs US focus
  • Planning and preparation within oncology drug trials – focus on phase 2/3
  • Choosing the right trial designs for rare disease studies
  • How to achieve a successful launch by building appropriate phase 3

Seats available

Speakers

Keya Watkins
SVP - Catalyst Oncology, Catalyst Clinical Research
Dr. Kumar Gadamasetti
CEO, Certum Bio

12:30 PM

Technology spotlight – Innovative Digital Opinion Leaders identification with Adnexi to improve trial awareness

  • Understand the reliance of both patients and doctors alike on online resources for trial and disease awareness.
  • Learn about a new technology solution to search for Digital Opinion Leaders sharing content online about the therapeutic area
  • Discover how to identify and track Digital Opinion Leaders across all social and online platforms
  • Plan how to engage Digital Opinion Leaders in trial awareness

Speakers

Sandra Shpilberg
Co-Founder & CEO, Adnexi

12:45 PM

Lunch and networking

1:45 PM

Rethinking the paradigm and turning to RBQM for a risk-based, more targeted, and more efficient approach to clinical research in oncology

  • Knowing how to pick the right level of risk adjustment and critical to quality factors for your study
  • RBQM and vendors: how can we better work together to avoid common pitfalls and improve TMF quality
  • Why has there been a burdening resistance to adopting RBQM?
  • Understanding the latest regulation, ICH E6(R3), and how it’s designed to support better trial design, quality, patient safety and to better ensure compliance
  • How can RBQM help sponsors manage high clinical trial complexity?

Speakers

Catherine Caserza
Director, Clinical Operations, Daichii Sankyo

2:15 PM

FIRESIDE CHAT: Solving challenges for operational excellence in early-phase oncology trials

  • Navigate new regulatory requirements and complex study designs with larger sample sizes and a broader global footprint
  • Implement country and site selection strategies that optimize FPI/LPI milestones
  • Manage the complexities of enrollment, cohort management, safety review, and trial logistics across multiple regions
  • Maintain a patient-centric approach to optimize study coordination and to benefit patients

Speakers

Keya Watkins
SVP - Catalyst Oncology, Catalyst Clinical Research
John McAdory
Vice President, Clinical Operations, CG Oncology

2:45 PM

FDA regulations in decentralized clinical trials

  • An overview of the FDA's latest guidelines and requirements for DCTs, highlighting key aspects such as the integration of digital health technologies, remote monitoring, and the adherence to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) principles, as well as ensuring innovative trials maintain the highest standards of safety, efficacy, and data integrity.
  • Discussion of the FDA's collaborative efforts with other regulatory bodies, promoting harmonized standards and facilitating global acceptance of DCT methodologies.
  • Adhering to the FDA's comprehensive regulatory requirements so sponsors can navigate the complexities of DCTs and contribute to the evolution of clinical trials and the accelerated development of innovative medical treatments

Speakers

Wenjing Wang
Associate Director - Associate Principal Scientist, Merck

3:15 PM

Afternoon refreshments and networking

3:45 PM

Functional precision oncology to increase clinical trial success rates

Speakers

Dr Chris Apfel
CEO and Chairman, SageMedic Corp

4:15 PM

Reserved for event sponsor

4:45 PM

CLOSING KEYNOTE: Driving great decision making: A perspective from a finance fanboy

  • Perils of a less-optimal decision setup
  • Setting the stage for decision prep
  • Always bring them choices - scenarios for the win
  • Sticking the landing with clear decisions and documentation

Speakers

John Gouws
VP Finance, Alumis

5:15 PM

Chairperson’s closing remarks

Speakers

Keya Watkins
SVP - Catalyst Oncology, Catalyst Clinical Research

END OF DAY 1 AND NETWORKING DRINKS

8 AM

Registration and refreshments

8:50 AM

Chairperson’s opening remarks

Speakers

Keya Watkins
SVP - Catalyst Oncology, Catalyst Clinical Research

9 AM

Interactive Speaker-Hosted Roundtable Discussions

Interactive roundtable sessions offer a unique opportunity to come together with your peers to share best practice and develop solutions to critical challenges facing the industry as a whole. Each discussion will be led by a table moderator and will focus on a different challenge within oncology clinical trials. Roundtables are an exciting, interactive way to build your personal network and learn from the experience and expertise of others.

After 30 minutes, delegates will have the opportunity to swap and choose a different table, and each roundtable will run twice.

Roundtable 1 Balancing patient, development and investor priorities in your trial design
Roundtable 2 Measuring success by assessing the effectiveness of your patient enrolment strategy
Roundtable 3 Economics of trial start up: True cost of no diversity, lack of technology adoption and more
Roundtable 4 Ensuring regulatory compliance for expedited drug approvals in oncology in the USA

10 AM

Morning refreshments and networking

10:30 AM

KEYNOTE: How to align financial incentives between CROs and biotechs so that both sides win

  • Fine-tuning the partnership and incentivizing CROs to be more thoughtful in proposals
  • Reconsidering PM involvement and responsibilities
  • Encouraging data system investment
  • Building better budgets on the known

Speakers

Abhijit Ramachandran
Director, Clinical Development Operations – Oncology, Corcept Therapeutics

11 AM

Reserved for Kohkan Shamsi, MD, PhD, Co-founder, Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs, RadMD

Speakers

Kohkan Shamsi, MD, PhD
Co-founder, Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs, RadMD

11:30 AM

Clinical Trial Decarbonization: beginning our journey to NetZero

  • Measuring clinical trial carbon emission footprints
  • Identifying emissions hotspots and decarbonization initiatives
  • Aligning with key partners (e.g. CRO, Central Lab)
  • Incentivizing the organization

Speakers

Edward Owen
Therapeutic Area Director, Oncology, Early Clinical Development, Genentech

12 PM

PANEL DISCUSSION: How innovation will shape the future of clinical research in oncology

  • Assessing the value of innovation in oncology trials: sharing best practice on engaging sites with new technology
  • Leveraging the latest technologies to enhance patient experience
  • Training sites and staff on new systems to maximize the benefits of the latest technology and streamline processes
  • Assessing the efficiency and success of pragmatic trials for more patient-centered approaches: do they work for oncology?

Seats available

Speakers

Abhijit Ramachandran
Director, Clinical Development Operations – Oncology, Corcept Therapeutics
Edward Owen
Therapeutic Area Director, Oncology, Early Clinical Development, Genentech
Keya Watkins
SVP - Catalyst Oncology, Catalyst Clinical Research

12:30 PM

Lunch and networking

1:30 PM

New alternate methods for clinical trials: Discussion of the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells for drug development

Speakers

Mukhtar Ahmed
Director, Project & Portfolio Strategy, Greenstone Biosciences
Rabindra Shivnaraine
Director, Drug Discovery, Greenstone Biosciences

2 PM

PSI’s VISIONAL: Enhancing Feasibility & Enrollment Predictions with GenAI

  • GenAI-Driven Protocol & Enrollment Predictions: Explore how PSI integrates GenAI for protocol similarity searches and enrollment rate predictions, improving accuracy and efficiency in clinical trial planning.
  • Expanded Data for Global Feasibility Insights: Learn how VISIONAL™ incorporates three new data sources to enhance site performance analysis and offer insights across 56 countries, supporting better decision-making.
  • Faster Trial Planning & Budgeting: Discover how VISIONAL™ enables sponsors to quickly generate multi-country feasibility scenarios and budgets in under 30 minutes, streamlining the planning process.

Speakers

Emily McInturf
Director, Feasibility, PSI CRO

2:30 PM

CARGO’s CAR-T related trials

Speakers

Cedric Dos Santos
Former Vice President, Translational Medicine, CARGO Therapeutics

3 PM

Effective collaboration in the trial ecosystem: How should pharma work with patient organizations and what are the best ways to engage with them?

  • Highlighting and overcoming the pitfalls of working with patient groups and how to facilitate the outreach to ensure everyone is onboard
  • Tackling lack of patient awareness: Improved methods of connecting community‐based researchers with those in academic centers conducting trials
  • Elevating trial credibility by better working with networks globally to find patients and identify the best centers

Speakers

Vicki Plaks
Senior Scientific Director, Head of Cell Therapy, Oncology Translational Research, Johnson & Johnson

3:30 PM

Afternoon break, networking and prize draw

4 PM

Get to know your CRO

  • Are global CROs the only viable solution for multinational drug development clinical trials?
  • Avoiding the misalignment of incentives between service providers and biotechs to prevent sponsor dissatisfaction
  • Thinking objectively when selecting CRO partnerships by using a data-based approach rather than relying on previous relationships and trials
  • From chaos to clarity: How to best implement innovative e-clinical software systems to ensure they work within the CRO universe

Speakers

Brian Frenzel
President, CEO, and Director, Tosk

4:30 PM

The ongoing road to clinical trials from a startup perspective: bench to bedside with a novel pan-cancer target

  • Human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) sequences comprise 8% of the total human genome DNA, and they entered the genome between 10 and 50 million years ago
  • HERVs are unique tumor targets that are overexpressed in more than 80% of solid tumors, but not in normal tissues
  • SunnyBay Biotech has developed therapeutics targeting the HERV-K supergroup of HERVs
  • Our approach for moving novel HERV-K therapeutic antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which reduce tumor growth, inhibit metastasis, and prolong survival in murine models of breast and lung cancers, from the lab into the clinic will be discussed

Speakers

Gary Johanning
CSO, SunnyBay Biotech
Feng Wang-Johanning
CEO, SunnyBay Biotech

5 PM

Session reserved for Tatiana Kolesnikova, Director, Oncology and Hematology, GlobalData

Speakers

Tatiana Kolesnikova
Director, Oncology and Hematology, GlobalData

5:30 PM

Chairperson’s closing remarks

Speakers

Keya Watkins
SVP - Catalyst Oncology, Catalyst Clinical Research

END OF CONFERENCE

Speakers

Select a speaker to learn more

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Edward Owen
Therapeutic Area Director, Oncology, Early Clinical Development, Genentech

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: How innovation will shape the future of clinical research in oncology

2025-05-15, 12:00 PM

Session Details:

Clinical Trial Decarbonization: beginning our journey to NetZero

2025-05-15, 11:30 AM

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Jennifer Willert
Global Clinical Development Medical Director (CDMD), Novartis Cell and Gene/Hematology

Session Details:

KEYNOTE: Developing resilient clinical trials: Lessons learned in CAR-T for ped-young adult and adult oncology trials

2025-05-14, 8:30 AM

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: Where is the oncology clinical trial industry headed in 2025?

2025-05-14, 9:30 AM

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Dr. Kumar Gadamasetti
CEO, Certum Bio

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: The pursuit of success: Driving your drug from the bench to bedside

2025-05-14, 12:00 PM

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Lloryn Hubbard
Director Clinical Trial Diversity and Patient Voice, Daiichi Sankyo

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: Innovatively progressing patient-centric oncology trials in 2025

2025-05-14, 12:00 PM

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Zelanna Goldberg
Chief Medical Officer, Replicate Bioscience

Senior Executive with extensive knowledge and experience in oncology drug development. Over 20 years in oncology care and drug development across a broad platform of solid tumor and hematologic indications and drug types. Strategic thinker coupled with tactical experience across the oncology drug development landscape. Experience in small biotech and large pharma industry domains, with knowledge of asset valuation, global drug development, risk management and organizational efficiency.

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: Where is the oncology clinical trial industry headed in 2025?

2025-05-14, 9:30 AM

Session Details:

Transforming patient enrolment campaigns to make a meaningful impact on lifesaving research

2025-05-14, 2:45 PM

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Cedric Dos Santos
Former Vice President, Translational Medicine, CARGO Therapeutics

Highly motivated Ph.D. research scientist with 9+ years of pre-clinical and translation research in the field of Hematology/Oncology, especially Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

Expert in normal/ malignant stem cells, signal transduction, biomarkers and drug discovery/drug development using small molecules or cancer immunotherapy both in vitro and in vivo. Strong ability to plan, develop, and execute pre-clinical studies for oncology drugs with excellent communication skills, presentation abilities and work ethic.
Success driven team player able to work under pressure in order meet deadlines. Established collaborations with both academic and pharmaceutical companies.

With an ambitious personality, my goal is to develop selective therapeutic strategies for targeting AML/cancer stem cells in order to start clinical trials and improve patients’ outcome. As a proof, one of my preclinical study led to a phase I/II clinical trial combining dasatinib with conventional chemotherapy aimed at improving outcomes in poor-risk AML patients that otherwise have low remission rates and high relapse rates (NCT01876953).

Specialties: Hematological malignancies, especially AML, CML and MDS.
Normal hematopoietic and leukemic stem cells isolation/characterization, signaling pathways, AML/MDS patient-derived xenograft model and syngeneic/GEMM AML mouse model.
Pre-clinical, clinical and translational research.

Session Details:

CARGO’s CAR-T related trials

2025-05-15, 2:30 PM

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Faisal Rahman
Senior Medical Director, Eikon Therapeutics

Session Details:

New trial locations: Establishing an operational presence in new markets outside EU7

2025-05-14, 11:00 AM

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Catherine Caserza
Director, Clinical Operations, Daichii Sankyo

Session Details:

Rethinking the paradigm and turning to RBQM for a risk-based, more targeted, and more efficient approach to clinical research in oncology

2025-05-14, 1:45 PM

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Wenjing Wang
Associate Director - Associate Principal Scientist, Merck

Session Details:

FDA regulations in decentralized clinical trials

2025-05-14, 2:45 PM

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Sarah Schiltz
Board Member, Cancer CAREpoint and Patient Advocate, National Cancer Institute

With over 30 years of experience in healthcare technology, I currently serve as a patient advocate and board member for organizations committed to driving positive change in healthcare and supporting those impacted by cancer. Previously, I held the position of marketing leader at Vocera Communications, a public company based in Silicon Valley. Following Vocera's acquisition by Stryker in February 2022, I provided advisory support during the transition throughout 2023.

I dedicate my time and energy to enhancing the lives of cancer patients and the front-line caregivers who support them.

'An experienced and passionate patient and caregiver advocate, helping improve the lives of those that have followed in her path on a cancer journey.  Motivational leader with record of success creating, executing, and managing programs that lead to immediate and long-term results. Experience building marketing divisions from the ground up, leading turnarounds for under-performing areas, and building consensus to advance adoption of services and technologies.'

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: Innovatively progressing patient-centric oncology trials in 2025

2025-05-14, 12:00 PM

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Abhijit Ramachandran
Director, Clinical Development Operations – Oncology, Corcept Therapeutics

Abhijit Ramachandran, Director of Clinical Operations at Corcept Therapeutics Inc. is an established versatile leader with deep experience in clinical trial operations management. Expertise in conducting and coordinating multi-center international clinical trials and managing cross-functional project teams. Highly skilled in liaising with Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and other suppliers to achieve program and company goals. Adept at managing the progress of clinical studies and ensuring adherence to study protocols, regulatory/internal SOPs, intended timelines, and budget. Solid experience with early and late-phase clinical studies, including orphan disease indications.

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: How innovation will shape the future of clinical research in oncology

2025-05-15, 12:00 PM

Session Details:

KEYNOTE: How to align financial incentives between CROs and biotechs so that both sides win

2025-05-15, 10:30 AM

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Anthony Fermin
Clinical Program Director, Genentech

Clinical research professional with a pharmacy and nursing background experienced in managing clinical development studies in multiple therapeutic areas specializing in oncology in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: Where is the oncology clinical trial industry headed in 2025?

2025-05-14, 9:30 AM

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Meghan McKenzie
Director of Health Equity and Clinical Research, Chief Diversity Office, Genentech

Meghan McKenzie is a Director of Health Equity and Clinical Research in Genentech’s Chief Diversity Office. She develops strategies to drive greater inclusion of underrepresented patient populations in clinical research and to advance health equity by working directly with sites in our Advancing Inclusive Research (AIR) Site Alliance and by gaining patient insights to change behavior and protocols.

Gaining patient, clinician and community insights early in program development is integral to developing what is important to patients and improving access to medicines and treatments for all patients, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability and socioeconomic status.

She has over 25 years of clinical development research experience working at the site, CRO and biotech level, and spanning multiple diseases, including oncology, ophthalmology, immunology, neurology, infectious and rare diseases.

Meghan received her Master’s Degree in Human Biology at San Francisco State University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Economics at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and has earned the Cornell University ‘Advanced D&I Certificate’ and the Columbia Business School ‘Certificate in Business Excellence

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: Innovatively progressing patient-centric oncology trials in 2025

2025-05-14, 12:00 PM

Session Details:

Improving clinical trial representation to increase access to trials

2025-05-14, 11:00 AM

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Cynthia C. Obiozor
Oncology Clinical Research Medical Executive Director, Amgen

Physician life sciences and drug development strategist providing clinical insight and direct oversight of multi country clinical trials, expanded access protocols, diagnostics, and therapeutic collaborations in the oncology sector.

Notable Therapeutics:
SD-101,  Toll-like receptor 9 agonist, inducing inflammatory antitumor immune responses and has demonstrated clinical synergy with anti-PD-1 antibodies in PD-1 Ab-naïve and PD-1 Ab-refractory melanoma and in patients with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 naïve, recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

LUMAKRAS (soratasib), first in class KRAS G12C inhibitor indicated for the treatment of adult patients with KRAS G12C-mutated locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Notable Diagnostics:
Therascreen Qiagen RGQ PCR (an FDA-approved companion diagnostic (CDx) test to identify NSCLC patients harboring specific KRAS mutations in tumor DNA isolated from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) NSCLC tumor tissue and that may be eligible for treatment with LUMAKRAS (soratasib).

Session Details:

Clinical trial diversity and how it intersects with patient-centric approaches and inclusive trial designs

2025-05-14, 1:45 PM

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Gay Crawford
Co-Founder, Cancer CAREpoint

A two-time cancer survivor, Crawford, a media professional amd a member of the Rotary Club of San Jose,  is most noted for “changing the landscape” of cancer care in Silicon Valley and California.  She served on the American Cancer Society’s National Extramural Grants programs a Stakeholder, helping to award some $100 million research dollars.  She is a founder of the second non-profit hospice in California; she found  an annual program serving 400 kids with cancer every year; she is the founder and firs president of  the Cancer Registry for the State of California, and an Emeritus member of Stanford Cancer Center South Bay’s Patient and Family Advisory Council.   Inn 2009,  she co-founded Cancer CAREpoint, which provides free non-medical services for cancer patients and families in the Bay Area and currently serves on their Advisory Sustaining Board.

Crawford has many awards to her credit, including the National Ellen Stovall Award for Innovation in Cancer Care, (a national award for cancer patient advocacy). She was selected by KRON TV for their 2024  Remarkable Woman program; The Jefferson Award from KPIX TV CBS, in 2014 she was selected for the Citizen’s Award from Santa Clara County Medical Association; the Silicon Valley Business Journal named her a Woman of Influence in 2015 and she has received numerous honors from the American Cancer Society, where she is an honorary life member.

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: Innovatively progressing patient-centric oncology trials in 2025

2025-05-14, 12:00 PM

Session Details:

PATIENT VOICE: My Story: How clinical trials have impacted my life (breast cancer at 31, lymphoma and eye disease)

2025-05-14, 3:45 PM

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Vicki Plaks
Senior Scientific Director, Head of Cell Therapy, Oncology Translational Research, Johnson & Johnson

Session Details:

Effective collaboration in the trial ecosystem: How should pharma work with patient organizations and what are the best ways to engage with them?

2025-05-15, 3:00 PM

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Luis A. Aguilar
Vice President, Business and Clinical Operations, Candel Therapeutics
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Brian Frenzel
President, CEO, and Director, Tosk

Silicon Valley entrepreneur, board member, and private investor. Extensive experience in founding and financing new companies and improving performance of existing companies.

Have previously served as CEO, Chairman, COO and/or CFO of four successful start-up companies that achieved an exit for investors, either through M&A or IPO. Functional areas of expertise include: general management, product development, fundraising, licensing, finance, marketing strategy, and governance.

Specialties: Managing the start-up and high growth process, research and product development strategy, team-building, and M&A / IPO preparation and implementation.

Session Details:

Get to know your CRO

2025-05-15, 4:00 PM

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Gary Johanning
CSO, SunnyBay Biotech

Basic research on the role of viruses in the development of cancer. Studying how ancient endogenous retroviruses, which are present in all humans, become overexpressed in breast, ovarian, pancreatic and other cancers. Evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic antibodies and other therapies aimed at blocking human endogenous retrovirus expression in cancer cells.

Session Details:

The ongoing road to clinical trials from a startup perspective: bench to bedside with a novel pan-cancer target

2025-05-15, 4:30 PM

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Feng Wang-Johanning
CEO, SunnyBay Biotech

Session Details:

The ongoing road to clinical trials from a startup perspective: bench to bedside with a novel pan-cancer target

2025-05-15, 4:30 PM

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Keya Watkins
SVP - Catalyst Oncology, Catalyst Clinical Research

Keya brings 25 years of experience in building and leading high-functioning teams in drug development inclusive of clinical operations, data sciences and trial support services. An executive in operational and commercial roles, she has extensive experience in implementing strategies and delivering excellence for complex, global Oncology trials.

Session Details:

Chairperson’s opening remarks

2025-05-14, 8:20 AM

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: Where is the oncology clinical trial industry headed in 2025?

2025-05-14, 9:30 AM

Session Details:

PANEL DISCUSSION: The pursuit of success: Driving your drug from the bench to bedside

2025-05-14, 12:00 PM

Session Details:

FIRESIDE CHAT: Solving challenges for operational excellence in early-phase oncology trials

2025-05-14, 2:15 PM

Session Details:

Chairperson’s opening remarks

2025-05-15, 8:50 AM

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PANEL DISCUSSION: How innovation will shape the future of clinical research in oncology

2025-05-15, 12:00 PM

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Chairperson’s closing remarks

2025-05-14, 5:15 PM

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Chairperson’s closing remarks

2025-05-15, 5:30 PM

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Julie Martin
President & CEO, Scimega

Julie Martin, MSc, Lean Certified, CEO is a 17-year industry veteran who has led Scimega as CEO for 5 years. Her passion for Scimega’s business and team stems from knowing its expert oncology clinical development services add distinct value to industry stakeholders at a time when it’s needed most. As CEO, Julie’s vision is to secure the company’s long-term success by leveraging her in-depth industry expertise and business acumen. She equates that success with setting a clear vision for the organization’s continued sense of purpose. Her leadership, and collaboration with the managing Board of Directors, combined ensure the business excellence upon which Scimega has built its reputation. Julie plays a vital role in promoting Scimega’s expertise and showcasing Canada’s attributes as a formidable partner in global oncology drug development with an evolving Lean methodology.

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How to measurably increase operational efficiency in clinical trials

2025-05-14, 11:30 AM

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Kokhan Shamsi
Director Medical & Scientific Affairs, RadMD
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Emily McInturf
Director, Feasibility, PSI CRO

Emily McInturf, Director of Feasibility, has worked in the clinical research industry for the past 15 years. As a leader within PSI’s global feasibility team, Emily specializes in strategy development across multiple therapeutic areas – focusing on aligning a study’s design with top enrolling investigators in the right countries.

Using PSI’s INTELIA platform, a machine-learning-powered system for data-driven feasibility and enrollment forecast, Emily models and compares hundreds of country and site combinations, their budgets and probability of success, ultimately recommending the most optimal enrollment scenario in line with each sponsor’s key objectives. As a director, Emily provides oversight for global feasibility and site identification activities for both pre- and post-award opportunities and projects.

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PSI’s VISIONAL: Enhancing Feasibility & Enrollment Predictions with GenAI

2025-05-15, 2:00 PM

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Sarah Hamirani
Portfolio Director, AbbVie

Accomplished leader with 20+ yrs. of clinical trial experience in oncology, respiratory, and metabolic diseases. Industry expert, consistently delivering programs with high integrity. Adept at influencing stakeholders. Spearheads innovation. Passionate about transforming patient and caregiver experience in clinical trials.A Diversity, Equity and Belonging champion- founder of inclusive research group in Phase I oncology trials at AbbVie and creator of affinity groups within the community.
A suitcase-loathing adventurer. A Tiny Human’s Personal Assistant.

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CLOSING KEYNOTE: Integrating patient perspectives to reduce patient burden and enhancing early oncology trial designs

2025-05-14, 4:45 PM

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Christian Apfel
Chairman & CEO, SageMedic Corp
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Tatiana Kolesnikova
Director, Oncology and Hematology, GlobalData

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Session reserved for Tatiana Kolesnikova, Director, Oncology and Hematology, GlobalData

2025-05-15, 5:00 PM

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Mukhtar Ahmed
Director, Project & Portfolio Strategy, Greenstone Biosciences

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New alternate methods for clinical trials: Discussion of the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells for drug development

2025-05-15, 1:30 PM

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Rabindra Shivnaraine
Director, Drug Discovery, Greenstone Biosciences

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New alternate methods for clinical trials: Discussion of the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells for drug development

2025-05-15, 1:30 PM

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Sandra Shpilberg
Co-Founder & CEO, Adnexi

Sandra Shpilberg is the CEO & Co-founder of Adnexi, a software platform that helps biopharma identify the best trial sites (Site Intelligence), Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) and Digital Opinion Leaders (DOL) who can accelerate treatment development. Adnexi provides rapid, accurate, tech-enabled, customized, complete and continuously updating identification of trial sites, searching for prior experience that's relevant to your trials. Prior to Adnexi, Sandra was the CEO & Founder of Seeker Health, a successful patient finding platform that was acquired by Eversana. Prior to being an entrepreneur, Sandra held executive roles at biopharma companies including BioMarin and Johnson & Johnson.

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Technology spotlight – Innovative Digital Opinion Leaders identification with Adnexi to improve trial awareness

2025-05-14, 12:30 PM

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John Gouws
VP Finance, Alumis

John is a results-driven leader with a genuine passion for turning business strategies into reality through financial planning and analysis across various industries. He has a knack for financial modeling, budgeting, strategic planning, and variance analysis, which helps me tackle complex challenges and support data-driven decision-making.

Throughout his career, he's crafted and executed innovative financial strategies, streamlined processes, and led cost-saving initiatives that have significantly boosted operational efficiency and performance. He's managed multi-million-dollar budgets and steered investment strategies for complex project portfolios, making sure resources are used wisely to meet strategic goals.

He's also committed to building and empowering high-performing teams. He's spearheaded organizational transformations, enhanced the scalability of financial operations, and created talent acquisition strategies and leadership programs to support diversity and inclusion.

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CLOSING KEYNOTE: Driving great decision making: A perspective from a finance fanboy

2025-05-14, 4:45 PM

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Robbie Hill
Director, Business Development, Mercalis

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Global virtual clinical trial supplies: The benefits of implementing a virtual supply strategy for commercially available medications and ancillary supplies

2025-05-14, 10:00 AM

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Jim Eamma
Executive Director, Therapeutic Strategy, Oncology, Worldwide Clinical Trials

Jim Eamma’s experience in scientific and clinical research spans more than two decades and includes work in academic, clinical and CRO settings. Although oncology is his primary area of focus, he has also worked on clinical trials in other therapeutic areas. His intimate knowledge of studies at the level of the investigative site gives him the logistical and practical perspective needed for effective leadership and oversight. Today Jim will share more about Worldwide Clinical Trials and how the Worldwide team can help with your  oncology trials.

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The value of hope

2025-05-14, 11:30 AM

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John McAdory
Vice President, Clinical Operations, CG Oncology

John McAdory, MHA has a strong background in clinical operations and project management in the healthcare industry. John is currently serving as the Vice President of Clinical Operations at CG Oncology (Cold Genesys).

John has spent the last 20 years global clinical research specializing in the development novel oncolytic therapies. He has lead global clinical operation from clinical study design to submission of final study report including BLA filing. John has expertise in strategy development, risk management, project planning and execution and consistently achieving program goals. With a Six Sigma Green Belt, John specializes in identifying key area to find efficiency in clinical study conduct to save time and reduce cost. John previously held leadership and management positions at SillaJen, Inc, Janssen, Inc, and Amgen. John is a graduate of Hampton University with an BS in biology and has a Masters in Health Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

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FIRESIDE CHAT: Solving challenges for operational excellence in early-phase oncology trials

2025-05-14, 2:15 PM

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Advisory Board

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Cesare Spadoni

Cesare is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Oncoheroes Biosciences Inc., a Boston-based biotech company focused on pediatric oncology drug development. Cesare has more than 20 years of experience in the drug development field, in both scientific and commercial roles. Previously, he held senior positions at AMRI, Aptuit Laurus, ThalesNano and Auxiliis. Cesare started his career as research scientist in a pharmaceutical company (Eisai, London) and in academia (Institute of Enzymology, Budapest).

Following the death of his first daughter Laura to cancer, Cesare set up aPODD Foundation, a London-based charity focused on accelerating paediatric oncology drug development. As aPODD’s chairman he is actively involved on a pro-bono basis in drug repurposing projects, advocacy efforts and research collaborations.

Cesare holds an MSc in Applied Molecular Biology and a PhD in Neurosciences from UCL, University of London, as well as an MBA from the Central European University, Budapest.

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Frank Richard

Frank Richard, MD, MBA is a seasoned medical doctor and has over 20 years of development experience in R&D. In his current role as VP Medical at Heidelberg Pharma AG, Germany, he is providing medical strategy and oversight for the preparation and conduct of phase I-III clinical studies using antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Additionally, he supports modelling &simulation activities to understand how to effectively use preclinical data from in vivo studies, mechanistic modeling, and bioanalysis to improve dose prediction and determine the optimal dose when introducing an ADC into clinical trials in various cancer indications.

Frank has been working in the past in Immune-Oncology, Immunology& Respiratory, Rare Hematology Diseases and Iron Metabolism across big pharma and biotech.

Frank holds a MD from Charité Medical University, Berlin, an MBA from University of Applied Sciences, Neu-Ulm, and is a board-certified Clinical Pharmacologist.

Additionally, he exerts an unique expertise and interest in Bayesian Statistics and machine learning in Pharma and Biotech.

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Stefano Ferrara

Stefano Ferrara is a Clinical Development Expert and Director of Clinical Science at BeiGene, specializing in oncology clinical development with a focus on innovative cancer treatments. With over 20 years of leadership in global oncology clinical trials, he has played key roles at Celgene Corp, Novartis Pharma, and Sanofi-Aventis, specializing in GI, Lung, GU, and Pediatric cancers. Stefano is passionate about increasing accessibility to cancer treatment globally. He holds a strong commitment to humanitarian efforts as a supporter of Save the Children. Stefano brings his expertise in both science and advocacy to his role on the advisory board

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Fatima Scipione

Fatima serves as the Vice President of Global Patient Affairs at Blueprint Medicines, a global, fully integrated biopharmaceutical company that invents life-changing medicines. We seek to alleviate human suffering by solving important medical problems in two core focus areas: allergy/inflammation and oncology/hematology.

In her role, Fatima leads transformative collaborations with external advocacy groups, empowering and educating those affected by systemic mastocytosis. She has led the launch of significant initiatives such as GRTY Health’s SM patient platform, MastoConnect (https://mastoconnect.com), and Colors of SM (https://www.colorsofsm.com/), in partnership with the advocacy community, and actively chairs the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) patient committee, which looks to address the needs of marginalized and underrepresented communities.

With over two decades of experience in the biopharma sector, Fatima is a dedicated and passionate advocate for patients. Celebrated by PharmaVoice 100 as one of the most inspiring leaders in patient advocacy, her work focuses on amplifying patient voices and harnessing the collective power of individuals to make a positive impact. Fatima is committed to enhancing patient engagement in the development of transformative medicines, ensuring that the patient perspective is integral to every stage of the process.

She inspires her colleagues to foster a culture of purpose-driven advocacy, ensuring that patient welfare remains at the forefront of their mission. Beyond her professional role, Fatima is deeply involved in civic activities, continually dedicating herself to enhancing patient welfare and advocacy on a broader scale.

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Plan Your Visit

Venue

San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront

1800 Old Bayshore Highway Burlingame, California, USA, 94010

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  • Demonstrate your expertise on the agenda – have the attention of the entire audience. For greatest impact, why not position your talk before a networking break and immediately conduct follow up conversations with highly engaged attendees
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    Present the value proposition of your offering over your competitors, in front of an audience of active, engaged potential customers
  • Speak with key decision makers as part of our intimate, interactive roundtable style workshop sessions with over 8 hours allowed for networking

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  • 150+ attendees each year
  • 80% attendees C-suite level

 

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Conor Taylor

Sponsorship Sales Manager

+44 (0) 20 7936 6870

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Senior Conference Producer

+44 204540 7545

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Sunny Saikia

VIP Delegate Manager

SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES

To enquire about sponsorship opportunities for the conference, please contact:

Conor Taylor

Sponsorship Sales Manager


+44 (0)207 936 6870

SPEAKER ENQUIRIES

To enquire about speaking opportunities for the conference, please contact:

Niki Khoshkbary

Senior Conference Producer


+44 204540 7545