Upcoming BIO Conference Tackles Evolving Finance Models and New Reimbursement Landscape
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 23, 2004) -- A unique biotechnology conference taking place in San Francisco this fall will bring together some of the top industry experts from Wall Street to discuss the evolving finance model and new reimbursement landscape facing the industry in 2005.
The BIO Emerging Company Investor Forum, Oct. 13-15, is one of several events in the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s ongoing effort to bring valuable information to investors and companies in this industry.
“The Emerging Finance Model for Biotech,” moderated by Andrew J. Weisenfeld, Managing Director, Banc of America Securities, kicks off the forum at 8 a.m., Wednesday, October 13. The session will examine financing models for emerging biotechnology companies in the current market environment. The panelists will address important questions such as:
• Under what circumstances will both the private and public equity markets be available to companies?
• Where will capital come from for earlier stage biotech business models?
“Given the dynamics in the equity markets—both public and private—as well as the needs of the biotech industry, the business models of equity sources may need to adapt,” said Weisenfeld.
“Operating in a New Reimbursement Environment,” moderated by David Low, Partner, Lazard, starts off the forum's second day at 8 a.m., Thursday, October 14. This session will discuss the reimbursement implications industry executives and investors must be aware of in the life cycle of a product, from bench top to the marketplace. Also, the discussion will focus on the increased scrutiny for treatment options and reimbursement rates clinicians, researchers and the payor community are experiencing. Among the questions the panel will examine:
• How are these decisions being made?
• How do various stakeholders operate in this new environment, with a particular focus on how it is affecting the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases?
“All healthcare investors, whether they are specializing in early-stage investments or more mature public companies, must develop a firm understanding of the reimbursement issues surrounding the product pipelines of their portfolio companies,” said Low.
BIO’s Emerging Company Investor Forum, hosted by Banc of America Securities and Lazard, and co-hosted by CIBC World Markets, Pacific Growth Equities and Citigroup, addresses an unmet need identified by the investment community and industry executives for a conference exclusively focused on emerging public and late-stage private companies in the biotechnology industry. The forum will be held Oct. 13-15, at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
“We’ve not only lined up a varied and promising group of biotechnology companies, but we’ve also attracted an impressive array of experts from Wall Street and beyond,” said Morrie Ruffin, vice president, business development and emerging companies, BIO.
For more information on these plenary session, and the expanded program including business roundtables as well as therapeutic and technology focused workshops, visit http://www.bio.org. Registration is complimentary for credentialed news media and investors. To register, please click here.
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.
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