London, United Kingdom, September 29, 2019 --(PR.com)-- With less than 3 weeks left for the conference, SMi�s 9th Annual Orphan Drugs & Rare Diseases will be returning on October 15 and 16 in London. This conference will bring together a broad spectrum of experts from across the orphan drug world. The two-day compact agenda will offer a series of presentations, through which you will gain key insights into current trends and innovations in orphan drug development, using real world case studies to illustrate challenges and opportunities. Featuring 15 insightful presentations from industry leaders, the two-day conference will showcase a dedicated focus on relevant issues, recent developments in orphan drug policy, market access and commercialisation, patient advocacy, patient engagement, channel of the advancements of orphan drugs and many more.

As there are less than three weeks remaining until the conference, places are limited. Interested individuals are advised to register soon to secure a place. Register at http://www.orphandrugs.co.uk/pr5

Ahead of the event, SMi caught up with Tom Watson, Executive Vice President, Bionical EMAS, for to discuss his presentation as a speaker at the event. Tom has partnered with Pharma and Biotech companies to design their strategy for pre-approval access and develop global programs, allowing patients to gain access to often lifesaving treatments. Within this time, Tom has been involved in setting up and running over 200 global Early Access Programs.

Snapshot of Tom�s interview:

Q) What is your role within the Rare Diseases field and why are you supporting the Orphan Drugs and Rare Diseases conference for 2019?
"I head up Bionical EMAS Early Access Programs. We specialize in supporting Pharma and Biotech companies in running global Early Access Programs (EAPs) for their drugs in development. The demand for access to investigational therapies often focuses where there are limited effective treatments, including many Rare Disease areas...�

Q) Where do you see the greatest opportunities for Pharma Leaders?
"We are moving away from treatments that provide incremental benefits to groups of patients to potentially curative personalized medicines meaning it is a hugely exciting time to be in healthcare but also representing a different paradigm...�

Q) What are the main challenges in your day-to-day work relating to meeting unmet medical needs?
"Providing access to investigational treatments outside of clinical trials often creates supply chain challenges, with very long and expensive manufacturing lead times for a lot of new treatments...�

For the full interview, speaker line-up and event details, the brochure is available to download online at http://www.orphandrugs.co.uk/pr5

For sponsorship and exhibitor enquiries, please contact Alia Malick on +44 (0) 207 827 6168 or [email protected]

For media enquiries contact Simi Sapal on +44 (0)20 7827 6162 or email [email protected]

SMi�s 9th Annual Orphan Drugs and Rare Diseases 2019
Conference: 15�16 October 2019
Workshop: 17 October 2019
Holiday Inn Kensington Forum, London, UK
http://www.orphandrugs.co.uk/pr5
#SMiOrphanDrugs

About SMi Group: Established since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the world�s most forward-thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. More information can be found at http://www.smi-online.co.uk