by Kevin Richards Industry Vice President, Reed Exhibitions

In only four short decades, Puerto Rico has emerged as a leading global center for pharmaceutical manufacturing. The island’s pharmaceutical and biotech cluster boasts facilities of industry giants like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and IVAX, and employs approximately 28,000 people. Puerto Rico led the world in international shipments of pharmaceutical products for 2003, with nearly 25 percent of total shipments.

Puerto Rico’s rise to leadership has been made possible in large part by the hard work and dedication an elite group of highly skilled and productive manufacturing teams. But even the best teams need access to education and training to sharpen their skills and maintain a competitive edge. That’s why we created the INTERPHEX Puerto Rico Conference. Developed specifically for the island’s pharmaceutical manufacturing professionals by ISPE, the leaders in pharmaceutical education, this intensive two-day program, which is paired with a comprehensive exhibition of pharmaceutical manufacturing solutions, will take place February 3-4, 2005 at the Caribe Hilton Hotel & Resort in San Juan.

New pre-event training courses

This year’s expanded program includes two new pre-event training courses. “Pharmaceutical Water Systems” will explore the fundamental concepts and principles of systems used to generate USP and non-compendial waters. “Technology Transfer for Finished Dosage Forms” will describe a standardized methodology for completing product transfers between manufacturing sites in a timely and approvable manner. Class size for these intensive, two-day sessions is limited to 30 delegates to ensure ample opportunity for one-to-one interaction with instructors.

In-depth education

The main conference will kick off on Thursday, February 3rd with a complimentary breakfast open to all conferees, speakers and exhibitors and followed by the Plenary Address. This probing panel discussion will feature dialogue on PAT, the new regulatory guidance documents and more between local FDA officials and industry leaders. At the end of the discussion, the floor will be opened for questions from the audience. Over the next day and a half, seven cutting-edge workshops will provide real-world insights and practical approaches to a wide range of 21st century challenges, including manufacturing execution systems; applications of process analytical technology; aseptic fill and operations, construction and project delivery methods, biotechnology processes and more. For a complete conference schedule, session descriptions and online registration, please visit www.interphexpuertorico.com.

“Extra credit” courses—at no extra cost!

The educational opportunities at INTERPHEX Puerto Rico extend far beyond the conference program—and they’re free to all badgeholders! For those who are grappling with the complexities of implementing radio frequency identification (RFID) and/or electronic product coding (EPC), Accenture will present a free thought leadership session entitled “The High Performance Value Chain: Jump-Starting RFID/EPC in the Pharmaceutical Industry.” Attendees will learn the results of the first industry pilot project to include the entire value chain, from manufacturing through wholesale and retail—with a focus on what manufacturers need to know in order to take advantage of this soon-to-be universal technology.Are you intrigued the potential benefits of combining process analytical technology (PAT) with manufacturing execution systems (MES)? Then you’ll want to catch IBM’s cutting-edge vendor presentation, “Extending PAT with Manufacturing Execution Systems for Process Control and Automated Product Release.” You’ll hear innovative strategies to accelerate your automation capabilities while reducing cycle time, operating costs and processing and documentation errors.

Sourcing made simple.

INTERPHEX Puerto Rico Expo Hall offers convenient access to the most advanced solutions from nearly 200 leading industry suppliers, including AZO Inc.; Brawn Mixer, Inc.; Cardinal Health; Cozzoli Machine Company; Day & Zimmermann ; Elizabeth Companies; Flow Sciences, Inc.; Fluor Corporation; Glatt Air Techniques, Inc.; Honeywell HPS; IBM Life Sciences; IMA North America, Inc.; Johnson Controls, Inc.; Kemutec Group Inc.; Lancer USA Inc.; Mettler Toledo Inc.; National Instruments; Niro Pharma Systems; Optel Vision; Pall Life Sciences; Rockwell Automation; Sartorius Corporation; Servolift; Texwipe; US Filter; Vijuk Equipment, Inc.; and Water Tech. In addition, you can discover emerging technologies and new, innovative suppliers in the Tabletop Exhibits located in the San Geronimo Ballroom.

Connect with colleagues from across the island.

After a busy day in the classroom and exhibition, you can relax, unwind and network with fellow attendees at the Fiesta Hour each night from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. All badgeholders are also invited to the gala Opening Night Reception, hosted by the ISPE Puerto Rico chapter, and the show closing Cocktail Hour on Friday afternoon. Join in the INTERPHEX and MEDICAL DEVICE Puerto Rico Golf Tournament on Saturday, February 5th at the Plantation Golf Club, followed by an awards dinner.

FREE admission to MEDICAL DEVICE Puerto Rico.

On Monday, February 7th, MEDICAL DEVICE Puerto Rico will open its doors at the Caribe Hilton and Resort—and your INTERPHEX Puerto Rico badge provides you free admission to the exhibits. This “bonus” event is your opportunity to see the newest technologies and innovations for manufacturing medical devices and instruments used for measuring, control, diagnosis and analysis. For complete details on this new event, please visit www.medicaldevicepuertorico.com.