OMERACT Business Advisory Committee

The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) is a forum in which the OMERACT Management Group exchanges ideas with members of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Members are invited to comment on the agenda of activities for OMERACT meetings, and can suggest items for consideration. The BAC, through its direct access to the Management Group, allows more rapid and timely development of the agenda for OMERACT activities. It ensures that sponsors have a voice in the development of consensus in outcome measures in rheumatology.

The BAC is co-chaired by two members of the OMERACT community. The BAC meets at least once a year at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Members of the BAC are regularly updated by the Co-Chairs on the agenda for OMERACT meetings and any other developments.

The BAC has provided OMERACT with the opportunity to reach consensus through sharing of information on a global level, which in turn has led to the validation of outcome measures in rheumatologic clinical trials and furthered the efforts to develop consistent regulatory expectations for new products to treat rheumatic diseases. Industry input into the planning, discussions and recommendations emanating from the OMERACT process have provided a valuable and equitable balance to the input of participants from academia and regulatory agencies. Representatives to the BAC and OMERACT conference attendees are selected by the supporting sponsor and need not be the same persons. However, participants must be clinical researchers and/or methodologists. All individuals are expected to be actively involved in OMERACT activities, bringing their expertise to the process. Individuals participating in OMERACT activities are identified only by their name, and not by their affiliation with a company or academic site.