BIO Investor Conference Zeros in on Major Health Issues Including Cancer, Aging Diseases and Obesity
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 31, 2005) -- The Biotechnology Industry Organization’s (BIO) seventh annual CEO & Investor Conference will bring together biotechnology CEOs, investors and other key industry supporters to examine investment opportunities and issues facing the industry. The conference is the largest biotechnology industry-run investor event in the world and will take place at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York City on February 23-24, 2005.
Twenty-three focus sessions will provide investors in the biotech sector with a comprehensive overview of clinical developments and market opportunities in major therapeutic and disease areas. Each session consists of an interactive panel of company executives and industry experts followed by a 30 minute question and answer period.
Focus session topics range from specific diseases and conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, diabetes, HIV and sexual dysfunction to drug development, gene therapy, orphan drugs, personalized medicine and biomarkers.
· “Zeroing In on the Cure for Cancer with Exciting Approaches,” will discuss how a new generation of cancer treatments fit in the current treatment regime. Bill Kridel of Ferghana Partners will moderate a panel that will include executives from Dendreon Corporation, Celgene Corporation, MedImmune, Inc, and Introgen Therapeutics, which have treatments on the market or are in the development process.
· “Biotech’s Solutions to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease,” moderated by Elemer Piros of Rodman & Renshaw, will provide a clinical perspective on the problems and opportunities that are being explored in search of a cure. Panelists will include executives from Novartis, Ceregene, Memory Pharmaceuticals, Aderis Pharmaceuticals, and Prana Biotechnology, Limited.
· “Advances in Obesity Drugs,” will highlight which product candidates and drug targets are most likely to deliver value in the high stakes arena of treatments for obesity. Donna H. Ryan, M.D., Professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will join moderator Dr. Reid Leonard of Merck & Co., Inc, and panelists from Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Nastech Pharamaceutical Company, Inc.
The conference will include business roundtables on hot button business issues facing the industry including drug development, commercialization strategies, value creation and emerging regulations from the Food and Drug Administration as well the Securities and Exchange Commission. The conference will also feature arranged one-on-one meetings between investors and corporate management. More than 200 companies from the U.S., Europe and Canada will participate.
BIO represents more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 33 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.
For more information about BIO CEO & Investor Conference 2005 or to register on-line, please visit www.ceo.bio.org A complete list of focus group topics, moderators and panelists can be found at http://ceo.bio.org/opencms/ceo2005/program/focusSessionsComplete.jsp .
Registration is complimentary for credentialed news media. Advance registration is available until February 14, 2005 at http://ceo.bio.org/opencms/ceo2005/registration/media.jsp .
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