15th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference to Highlight Biotech Outlook, Winning Business Development Models and Timely Therapeutic Topics

WASHINGTON -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announces plenary sessions, Business Roundtables and Therapeutic Workshops selected for the 15^th annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference. Moderators and panelists chosen to speak represent former White House Chiefs of Staff, industry thought leaders, academics and biopharma executives. The conference, to be held in New York City, February 11 – 12, 2013, is the largest independent investor conference focused on publicly-traded biotechnology companies.

“With more than 600 investors and 150 presenting companies planning to attend, the BIO CEO & Investor Conference serves a vital role in bringing industry leaders together and generating the investment interest that will help bring new therapies to market,” said Alan Eisenberg, BIO’s Executive Vice President of Emerging Companies and Business Development. “This year's program features over 50 thought leaders who will draw from their unparalleled experience in the industry to share their candid insights on what 2013 and beyond will bring.”

The BIO CEO & Investor Conference plenary sessions will forecast both the year ahead in biotech and the political outlook for the next four years. The Business Roundtables will focus on reimbursement, successfully navigating the Chinese market, biopharma collaborations and alternative venues to public markets. Therapeutic Workshops will address topics the treatment pipeline for pancreatic cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and rare diseases.

Plenary sessions include:

Opening Plenary: Word on the Street: The Buy-Side View for 2013
Monday, February 11^th, 12:00 pm - 12:55 pm
Moderator: Mark Schoenebaum, MD, Senior Managing Director and Head, Healthcare Research, ISI Group
Panelists:

• Samuel D. Isaly, Managing Partner, OrbiMed Advisors
• Oleg Nodelman, Founder & Managing Director, EcoR1 Capital
• Nathan Sadeghi-Nejad, Partner, Palkon Capital Management

Closing Plenary: Tales From the Wild West (Wing): Reflections from White House Chiefs of Staff
Tuesday, February 12^th, 4:00 pm – 4:55 pm
Moderator: James C. Greenwood, President & CEO, BIO
Panelists:

• Joshua Bolten, 22^nd White House Chief of Staff and Managing Director, Rock Creek Global Advisors
• John Podesta, Former White House Chief of Staff and Founder and Chair, Center for American Progress

Business Roundtables include:
Show Me the Money: Reimbursement in an ACA World
Monday, February 11^th, 9:00 am – 9:55 am
Moderator: Roger Longman, Chief Executive Officer, Real Endpoints
Panelists:

• Peter Bach, MD, MAPP, Director, Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Rena Conti, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Policy & Economics, University of Chicago
• Ed Pezalla, MD, MPH, National Medical Director for Pharmacy Policy and Strategy, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Aetna
• Cynthia Smith, Vice President, Market Access & Commercial Development, Affymax

How the Other Half Lives: What’s Happening in Venture and Why it Matters
Monday, February 11^th, 2:00 pm – 2:55 pm
Moderator: Jeffrey Baumel, Partner, SNR Denton
Panelists:

• Arlene M. Morris, Chief Executive Officer, Syndax Pharmaceuticals
• Stelios Papadopoulos, PhD, Chairman, Exelixis, Inc.
• Dennis Purcell, Senior Managing Partner, Aisling Capital
• David Sable, Portfolio Manager, Special Situations Fund

Small Companies Thinking Big – China Tactical Strategies
Monday, February 11^th, 3:30 pm – 4:25 pm
Moderator: Jimmy Zhang, PhD, MBA, Managing Director, MSD Early Investments--Greater China, Merck & Co. Inc.
Panelists:

• Friedhelm Blobel, PhD, President, CEO & Director, SciClone Pharmaceuticals
• Alan Eisenberg, Executive Vice President, Emerging Companies & Business Development, BIO
• Kewen Jin, Managing Director, Nimbus Innoworks
• Laurence Reid, PhD, Senior Vice President & Chief Business Officer, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Putting a Ring on It – When Drug Development Partnerships Become Acquisitions
Tuesday, February 12^th, 12:00 pm – 12:55 pm
Moderator: Jeff Stewart, Senior Engagement Manager, Campbell Alliance
Panelists:

• Michael Gilman, PhD, Senior Vice President, Early Stage Programs, Biogen Idec
• Demetrios Kydonieus, Esq, Vice President, Strategy Alliances and Transactions, Bristol Myers-Squibb Company
• Michael Margolis, R.Ph., Managing Director, ROTH Capital Partners
• Effie Toshav, Partner, Corporate, Fenwick & West LLP

The Road Less Traveled: Alternative Avenues to Public Markets
Tuesday, February 12^th, 1:30 pm – 2:25 pm
Moderator: William Hicks, Member, Mintz Levin
Panelists:

• Charles Crain, Manager, Policy & Research, BIO
• Michelle Dipp, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, OvaScience
• Daniel B. Dubin, MD, Vice Chairman, Founder of MEDACorp, Leerink Swann
• Peter Kolchinsky, PhD, Managing Partner, RA Capital

Therapeutic Workshops include:
Oncology: Panning for Gold – Prospecting the Pancreatic Pipeline
Monday, February 11^th, 10:30 am – 11:25 am
Moderator: Brian Klein, MD, Vice President & Senior Biotechnology Analyst, Stifel Nicolaus
Panelists:

• John Chabot, MD, FACS, Chief, Division of GI/Endocrine Surgery and Executive Director, Pancreas Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University
• Stewart M. Kroll, Senior Vice President, Clinical Operations and Biostatistics, Threshold Pharmaceuticals
• Peter Laivins, Vice President, Late Stage Drug Development, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals
• Kenneth H. Yu, MD, Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Orphan Drugs: Making Rare Diseases Rarer
Tuesday, February 12^th, 9:00 am – 9:55 am
Moderator: Ritu S. Baral, Principal, Sr. Analyst – Biotechnology Equity Research, Canaccord Genuity
Panelists:

• Marc Beer, Chief Executive Officer, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals
• John F. Crowley, Chairman & CEO, Amicus Therapeutics
• Pamela Gavin, Senior Vice President, National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
• Hans GCP Schikan, PharmD, Chief Executive Officer, Prosensa
• Alvin V. Shih, MD, Chief Operating Officer, Pfizer Rare Disease Research Unit

Oncology: The CLL Chronicles – The Next Chapter in Clinical Developments
Tuesday, February 12^th, 12:00 pm – 12:55 pm
Moderator: Joel Sendek, Managing Director & Biotechnology Analyst, Stifel Nicolaus & Company
Panelists:

• Jacqueline Barrientos, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine CLL Research and Treatment Program
• John F. Gerecitano, MD, PhD, Medical Oncologist & Hematologist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Kanti Rai, MD, Joel Finkelstein Cancer Foundation Professor of Medicine and Professor of Molecular Medicine, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine

Additionally, the event will feature the BIO One-on-One Partnering™ system which provides the opportunity to arrange meetings between investors, companies and industry executives. Furthermore, the event features presentations from more than 150 leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Qualified institutional and venture investors whose primary activity is direct investment in research and development companies are eligible for complimentary registration. Equity research analysts from investment banking institutions also qualify as investors. Media registration is complimentary for credentialed members of the media. All registrations are subject to verification of credentials.

BIO is pleased to recognize the leadership provided by the BIO CEO & Investor Conference sponsors. The supporting bank sponsors include: Stifel Nicolaus & Company, Leerink Swann and ROTH Capital Partners, LLC.

To learn more about the BIO CEO & Investor Conference, including registration and program information, please visit here.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world. BIO produces BIOtechNOW, an online portal and monthly newsletter chronicling “innovations transforming our world.” Subscribe to BIOtechNOW.

Upcoming BIO Events

BIO CEO & Investor Conference
February 11 – 12, 2013
New York City, NY

BIO IPCC Conference
March 25-27, 2013
San Diego, CA

BIO International Convention
April 22 – 25, 2013
Chicago, IL

World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology
June 16-19, 2013
Montreal, Canada