Think & Drink Discussion Forums

Forum #1 - Monday, May 7, 2007

Forum #2 - Tuesday, May 8, 2007

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
North Lobby, BCEC
Organized by HealthAdvances LLC
Free to attend with any BIO attendee badge category, space is limited

Forum # 1: 5:30 – 6:30 pm, Monday, May 7, North Lobby

Can Small Companies and Academia Satisfy Big Pharma’s Expanding Appetite?

Leader: 

• Skip Irving, Partner and Managing Director, Health Advances, LLC

Participants:  Two executives from large pharmaceutical companies with the responsibility of implementing their company’s strategy for nurturing external relationships, identifying and evaluating technologies and products, and completing in-licensing deals.

• Reid Leonard, Ph.D.,Senior Director, Licensing and External Research, Merck Research Laboratories
• Robert Zivin, Ph.D., Corporate Director, Corporate Office of Science and Technology, Johnson & Johnson

Target Audience:  Business and scientific executives from drug discovery companies, academic researchers, and tech transfer professionals developing new technologies and products and seeking partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies.

Overview:  In some pharmaceutical companies 40% to 50% of new compounds will come from outside sources.  Given VC’s growing aversion to drug discovery and academia’s research priorities, can the supply come close to meeting the demand? 

Two companies with very different philosophies regarding outsourcing will offer their perspectives as a kick-off to a lively discussion of the future of drug discovery. The audience will be asked to share their views and experiences on the challenges of meeting the expectations of pharmaceutical companies.

Topics for Discussion:

How is the model for big pharma R&D changing?

• What are the drivers behind external sourcing of products and technology including comments on recent deals?
• Why are R&D strategies so different among pharma companies?
• How big is the gap between what pharma needs and what small companies and academia can deliver?
• Can we envision any new models for industrial and academic collaboration?

Forum #2: 5:30 – 6:30 pm, Tuesday, May 8, North Lobby

Navigating the Transition from Symptom Management to Disease Modification:  Lessons Learned from Diabetes

Discussion Forum Leader: 

• Marie Schiller, Partner, Health Advances, LLC

Discussion Forum Participants: Executives from a large pharmaceutical company and a private biotech company will be joined by the EVP of Research at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

• William W. Chin, M.D., VP, Discovery Research and Clinical Investigation, Eli Lilly and Company
• Douglas Ringler, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, TolerRx, Inc.
• Richard A. Insel, M.D., Executive Vice President of Research, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF)

Overview:  In most diseases we have reached the limit of symptomatic disease management and the primary unmet need is to dramatically affect the progression of the disease. Diabetes represents an excellent case study on how research interests are shifting and how to deal with the research, development and commercial hurdles facing companies during this transition. A discussion of the challenges in diabetes will provide lessons for many other diseases where the next big step is finding a cure.

Open to all registrants. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.