By all accounts, it is people who make the biggest difference in determining whether a bioscience company succeeds or fails. Capital coming into young companies demands experienced executives who can manage the growth of the company and the investment of capital. Having the right leaders on board at the right time is critical.

Topics to be addressed include:

• What are the right characteristics and personalities necessary to move the business forward?
• How and where do you find these leaders?
• How do you retain them?
• How do you pay them?

Come listen to experts discuss their experiences including the successes, failures, and obstacles involved when recruiting and motivating executives to guide bioscience companies into the market.

Moderator:

• Peter DeComo, CEO, Renal Solutions, Inc.

Panelists:

• Greg Licholai, M.D., vice president, medical affairs, Amicus Therapeutics
• Brian Murphy, partner, NewSpring Capital
• Steven Nichtberger, M.D., president & CEO, Tengion

Reimbursement in today's marketplace has become as critical to product development as regulatory approval.  Calls for "value-based medicine" and cost containment, and the impending "generization" of major drug classes means premium pricing for novel technologies will be limited to products that can demonstrate robust clinical outcomes and measurable benefits to patients, providers, and payers. 

In the US, containing healthcare costs while ensuring access to new therapies dominates political discussion. The UK's National Institution of Clinical Excellence (NICE) determines which drugs will be available through the National Health Service, establishing a second hurdle to market access.

Increasingly, successful reimbursement strategies are key drivers of market success. Embedding these strategies in Phase 2/3 clinical programs is all but required for companies seeking global partners.

The session will explore how to develop a successful reimbursement strategy, including how to demonstrate the value proposition to payers, both public and private, with a particular focus on global markets.

Moderator:

• Ulrich Grau, Ph.D., president & CEO, Lux Biosciences, Inc.

Panelists:

• Mary Del Brady, president & CEO, RedPath Integrated Pathology
• Dennis Jackman, senior vice president, public affairs, CSL Behring ( Presentation)
• John Maki, president & CEO, Vicus Therapeutics
• Tim Wert, senior director, provider & payor services, ImClone Systems Incorporated ( Presentation)

With public markets drying up, deal making and strategic partnerships remain the primary avenues for companies to fund further growth and/or provide exits for investors. Despite the imminent challenges of major patent expirations, which should put large premiums on late-stage partnering opportunities and favor opportunistic deal making, early-stage partnerships are now back en vogue. More recently, private equity has been entering the scene, even with research-based companies.

How do seasoned veterans in the bioscience industry identify and evaluate therapeutic entities returning the highest value?  Featuring successful deal-makers, this session will explore the latest trends in partnering activity, including deal structures and valuation.

The panel will discuss implications of various partnering strategies, including addressing financing needs in a time of lackluster markets, and will provide guidance for bioscience companies on how to best allocate R&D funding to generate successful outcomes, creating and retaining greater value.

Moderator:

• Steve Elek, III, partner, transaction services, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP

Panelists: 

• Elizabeth Anderson, worldwide vice president for immunology and respiratory, global strategic marketing, Johnson & Johnson
• Barbara Deptula, executive vice president, business development, Shire Pharmaceuticals
• Russ Gantt, vice president, corporate development, North America, AstraZeneca
• Tamar Howson, corporate and business development
• Perry Karsen, senior vice president, business development, Celgene Corporation