The conference producers have identified the fact that changes are rife in the healthcare sector. Change is occurring on a global scale as a result of corporate hyper-competition and huge advances in technology and computing. In turn, this is leading to ever greater levels of pressure on marketing departments, and production schedules. Success in many markets now requires the highly accurate anticipation of change and launch of product to consumers.

ESOMAR hope that this latest conference will help explain all this, giving researchers the knowledge they need to help compete. The coverage has been crafted to include discussion about the factors driving the changes (such as ebusiness, global competition, DNA technologies, innovation, government and new players), as well as the impact of new developments (including ethical drugs, generics, OTC and new delivery systems). Discussion will also take into account what is needed for success in the new environment, and the role and responsibility of marketing research in the new era.

The first day opens with a session on "Looking at the total chain" to be presented by Dirk Huisman, the conference convenor. Two keynote speeches will then follow –"Future challenges: A wake-up call" from Shereen El Feki the Healthcare Correspondent of The Economist, UK – and "Transformation of the Global Healthcare Market" from Bas Leerink, the Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company. The rest of the first day speeches include:

• Conditions for success, from Ergo Advanced Research SA of Spain
• A new paradigm for understanding the prescribing decision, from Taylor Nelson Sofres Healthcare of USA
• Improving the focus of strategic marketing research in new product development from Adelphi Research of UK and Belgium
• Will Asia be dominating in 2010? From Strategic Marketing Asia of China
• Mergers & acquisitions. The right mantra for success? from Org-Marg of India
• Industrial economics and culture determine Asian success in 2020 from Yamanouchi of the Netherlands.