ISMPP West 2019
Changing Tides and Technology in Scientific Communication 
Join us: Nov. 14-15, 2019 * Kimpton Solamar Hotel * San Diego, CA

Why West
Schedule of Events
Roundtable Topics
Meeting Fees/Registration
Venue/Hotel
Exhibits/Sponsorship Opportunities
Cancellation Policy
2018 ISMPP West Meeting

Why West?

The second ISMPP West Meeting will offer an insightful program that delves into the varied types of companies involved in publications, particularly those with a presence on the West Coast.

The 1½-day meeting will explore publication challenges at companies that range from large to small, start-up to established, well-funded to tightly funded, and drug to device.

These companies may encounter different needs and solutions to address the same problem, and they may even face different problems. Plan to attend and gain some valuable learning experiences!

Exhibitor and Sponsor Opportunities available! Hurry - only a handful remain! 

Schedule of Events:

Thursday, November 14 - Workshops: Choose from three workshops (1:00 - 4:30 PM):

Introductory Publication Planning: Building a Robust Publication Plan: New Challenges, Unique Approaches and Recent Developments 

  • A strategic publication plan takes into consideration many factors, and medical publication professionals often lead the development of a well-thought out plan.  The planning process results in a detailed roadmap that the product teams follow to best communicate clinical and other relevant data in a timely fashion to the appropriate audiences.  Despite careful and detailed planning, unexpected challenges can arise in both small and large companies.  In these cases, the medical publication professional may need to adopt unique approaches to meet their publication goals.  During the workshop, we will work together to gain awareness of new trends and developments in scientific communications and discuss new tools and insights into publication planning. 

Digital Advances and Publication Planning: Current Practices and Future Directions

  • In a data-rich medical environment, digital advances in publication planning are helping to enhance the educational value, stakeholder relevance, and reach of medical publications. Participants will gain insights into the need for and new trends associated with digitally enhanced content and social media platforms. They will also review the latest innovations from prominent medical publishers and the obstacles and practical challenges in adopting new media as well as methods to overcome them.

  • Case Studies: Attendees will be encouraged to share their own work experiences with integrating enhanced content and social media into their publication plans and processes.

Ethics in Publications Practice: Authorship, Transparency, Consequences, and Beyond

  • What does ethics mean to you? The important issues of authorship, data transparency, compliance, open access and other topics become especially challenging in instances where current publication guidelines (ICMJE, GPP3, etc.) do not provide specific guidance and can be interpreted in different ways. This interactive workshop will enable participants to explore these and related issues that sometimes fall into gray areas in depth, going beyond the letter of the guidelines, and employing real-world case studies to examine ethics, potential solutions, consequences, and best practices. Whether from large pharma with established publication SOPs, or small start-ups with no publication’s infrastructure, or publishers or academics, participants will be encouraged to share their own cases and experiences for exploration by the entire group.

  • Previous enrollees appreciated the “thought-provoking” discussions and the appropriateness of examples for professionals of different experience levels.

Friday, November 15 - Interactive Program Sessions with Enlightening Discussions

  • Developing Publications for the Ultimate End User - The Patient
    • Patients should be able to find peer-reviewed medical research without the interpretation or opinions found in journalism or social media. As publication professionals, we have a responsibility to ensure accurate and accessible research is available to patients.  This session will explore how to incorporate plain language summaries (PLS) into our publication planning, practical considerations for developing PLS, dissemination, and accessibility.  Issues surrounding barriers, including cost, journals, and perceptions of duplicate publication/promotional materials will be discussed.
  • Publications are a Key Deliverable for the Medical Affairs Organization – How to Work with Your Medical Affairs Colleagues to Maximize Communication of Published Data
    • This session will address how publications content is used in broader communications and will include approaches to process, working with the medical affairs team, aligning strategy, and communication planning.  We will discuss how the publications team can work with the medical affairs team to help facilitate data dissemination.  It will review how a publication is used in medical affairs communications (eg MSL slide kits, detail aides, Standard Response Letters for Medical Information, Medical Booth activities and materials) and how you can enhance your teamwork for better data dissemination.  The publication strategy and plan is an important part of the overall medical strategy and we will give you tips on how to align on overall strategy for a communication plan.
  • Potential Impact of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Scientific Publications

    • Blockchain: Emerging new technologies such as blockchain have the potential to revolutionize medical publications. Researchers and publishers are increasingly joining blockchain projects to drive transparency and peer-review of publications (eg. Taylor & Francis and Cambridge University press).

    • Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence technologies are increasingly being used to analyze eye tracking and visual attention, transform audience targeting, and provide alternative publication formats. Using these new techniques, scientific publications are being designed to convey messages much more effectively.

  • New for 2019 - 12 Roundtable Session Topics:
  1. Social Media as a Tool for Publications
  2. Scientific Platforms: Challenges
  3. Best Practices Interacting with Authors
  4. Lay Summaries for Biomedical Journals
  5. Metrics for Publication Impact
  6. Career Development in Scientific Communications/Publications
  7. Data-sharing as a Journal Requirement for Publication
  8. Publication Steering Committees
  9. Engaging HCPs: The Role of Medical Affairs
  10. Hybrid Positions in Publications: Writing and Planning
  11. Open Access and Medical Publications
  12. Communicating RWE from Prespecified Studies

PLUS, visit with exhibitors to learn about their products and services, and enjoy time with fellow peers during Friday evening's Networking Reception.

Meeting Fees:

ISMPP West Meeting Registration:  *$550
Choice of three workshops: *$295 each

* Non--ISMPP members: Please note there is a $195 additional administrative fee to register, which includes a complimentary year of membership to ISMPP if you opt-in.


2019 Venue & Hotel Reservations:

Kimpton Solamar Hotel
435 6th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone:  (619) 819-9500
Room reservation link

Room rates: $209++ per night (plus tax – currently 12.695%, and $10 amenity fee per night)

Important: hotel booking advisory! If you receive a phone call or email from any third-party vendor looking to assist with your hotel reservations, beware, this is a scam. Please alert [email protected] and do not provide any credit card information.

Travel Information:

From the east and San Diego Intl. Lindbergh Field (SAN) (Nearest Airport):

Hotel Solamar is located just three miles from the San Diego International Airport (approximately 14 minute drive).
Take the airport exit towards the car rental return.
Turn left onto North Harbor Drive.
Turn left onto Broadway.
Turn right onto 6th Avenue.
Kimpton Solamar Hotel is located at 435 - 6th Avenue at the corner of J Street.

ISMPP has arranged for discounts up to 5% on the following airline(s):

United Airlines - Enter departure/arrival information. Click on “Advanced Search”. Enter ZGCA284012 in the “Promotions and Certificates” box at the bottom of the page. 

Delta Airlines - Enter departure/arrival information. Click on “Advanced Search”. Enter NY2N7 in the Meeting Code box. 

American Airlines - Enter departure/arrival information and traveler information. In the Promotion Code box, enter 54N9AY. 

Exhibitor & Sponsor Opportunities:

Secure your spot! Complete the exhibit and sponsor form

Exhibit Opportunities:

  • 6 ft. Tabletop Exhibit - $3,000/each

Sponsorship Opportunities:

  • Networking Reception: $5,000 - only 1 available!
    Your logo will appear on  signage and branded cocktail napkins.
  • Education Grants:  $2,500
    Your logo will appear in both print materials and the ISMPP website.

Meeting Materials: Sponsor the lanyards, pens and bags!  Contact Sue Marek at [email protected] for details or with any questions.

Thank you to the following Exhibitors & Sponsors of the ISMPP West 2018 meeting:

Cancellation Policy:

4 or more weeks prior to event:

You will receive a full refund, minus 10% of the balance for processing fees, or you may substitute another ISMPP member to attend in your place. You may also request a voucher for the full registration fee to be used towards a future ISMPP event within the following twelve-month period.

2 to 4 weeks prior to the event: 

You will receive a refund of 30% of the registration fees or you may substitute another ISMPP member to attend in your place. You may also request a voucher for the full registration fee to be used towards a future ISMPP event within the following twelve-month period.

Less than 2 weeks prior to the event: 

You may substitute another ISMPP member to attend in your place.

2018 ISMPP West Meeting

ISMPP expresses our great appreciation to the faculty, attendees, exhibitors and sponsors of our first ISMPP West meeting. We welcomed over 120 participants, an excellent turnout for the Society's first-ever educational meeting on the West Coast!

View the 2018 ISMPP West Meeting agenda. 

Members, go to the ISMPP West Meeting Archive to view presentations.