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Graziadio School Sponsors Innovative Biotechnology Conference

Healthcare is complicated, expensive, and, above all, a business. To develop ways of streamlining the process of healthcare technology for patients and providers, the Graziadio School of Business and Management sponsored the inaugural Biotech Supply Chain Academy (BioSCA) conference September 11 to 12 in San Francisco, California.

The event was attended by over 120 healthcare and corporate executives from the U.S., China, and India. Speakers and attendees were primarily senior-level executives of biotech and pharmaceutical companies, service and solution experts, and academics, including Devendra Mishra , professor of supply chain management and operations management at the Graziadio School. Mishra also served as cochair of the event and is cofounder of BioSCA.

As cofounder, Mishra developed the conference as a means of bringing together the trading partners of the biotech industry. "This conference is where we collectively perfect the biotech supply chain for everyone's benefit," he explains. The chain involves everyone in the supply process, from the scientists developing healthcare products, to the hospitals and insurers in the middle of the process, all the way down to the patient purchasing much-needed care.

During the conference executives from the vastly different areas of healthcare discussed how to work together for their own success, become more visible in the chain, anticipate challenges, find talent, and harness that talent.

"It was so rewarding to witness the competitive executives of major companies share their experience, knowledge, and solutions with one another," says Mishra. "We had eminent academicians from MIT, Berkeley, Golden Gate University, and Pepperdine providing strategic thinking and analytical solutions. Service providers also offered relevant and valuable research and solutions for the industry."

Michael Sims, executive officer for corporate and external relations at the Graziadio School, said of the first BioSCA conference: "There was a great deal of enthusiasm for this event, and a lot of interaction, which bodes well for the future of biotech development and BioSCA. It was so well-received, which is what you hope for from these events."

The successful conference was a testament to the desire to bring healthcare into the 21st century. "The global economy is transforming the way you do business," says Mishra. "It rewards those who can collaborate smoothly with their partners and customers, so business excellence is no longer about individual players."

For more information about the BioSCA conference and a full list of speakers and sponsors, please visit the BioSCA Web site.