The Research & Lab Services Forum held its second semi-annual session on July 14th-15th. On behalf of all participants, we would like to thank Patricia Turney, Executive Director, Amgen, for hosting the event at Amgen’s corporate headquarters in Thousand Oaks, CA. The previous meeting was hosted by Dr. Sean Nugent, Vice President, Global Operations Americas, at Pfizer’s PGRD Headquarters in New London, CT last November.

The Research & Lab Services Forum continues to foster a community of practice leaders with a goal of advancing the Research & Lab Services profession.

More explicitly, the R&LS Forum aims to:
» Establish a sustained network of peer leaders responsible for managing Research & Lab Services
» Develop optimized processes for key services
» Understand use of suppliers and outsourcing strategies in R&LS
» Discover use of technology and best practices
» Understand how greater value can be created for scientists
» Have a neutral, objective forum for discussing common practitioner issues

Companies who have participated in the R&LS Forum include:
» Pfizer
» Amgen
» Johnson & Johnson
» Wyeth
» Genentech
» Bristol-Meyers Squibb
» Merck
» AstraZeneca

The group’s focus continues to be on establishing best practices for a set of specific services through group benchmarking and Six-Sigma lean processes.

To review summary proceedings from this event, or for more information about the R&LS Forum and how to become a member or participate, please contact Yvonne Liu, Marketing Director, at yliu@umsadvisory.com.