BIO CEO & Investor Conference to Address M&A, Licensing, Big Pharma Strategy, Investment Outlook and Political Environment

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announces plenary sessions and roundtables planned for the Eleventh Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference taking place February 9-10, 2009 at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York City.

“This year’s lineup of business roundtable and plenary sessions reflect the unique needs and concerns of the life sciences industry in today’s business environment”

“This year’s lineup of business roundtable and plenary sessions reflect the unique needs and concerns of the life sciences industry in today’s business environment,” said Alan Eisenberg, executive vice president, Emerging Companies & Business Development at BIO. “The ever-changing political environment and financial markets make it more important than ever that companies be educated and prepared for the potential business challenges that lie ahead. With this in mind, BIO has brought together the best minds in the industry to discuss innovative solutions to meet these pressing challenges.”

As part of the conference program, BIO and Thomson Reuters will release the results of the 2009 BIO Thomson Reuters Investor Perception Study, an in-depth assessment of Wall Street’s views of the biotech industry, its current challenges, its relative valuation, and the outlook for the coming year during a business roundtable session taking place Monday, January 9, at 12:30pm.

The BIO CEO & Investor Conference's plenary sessions and business roundtables will focus on economic and business issues facing the biotech industry, including public policy, mergers and acquisitions, and licensing issues, among other topics. Plenary sessions and roundtable topics include:

Plenary Sessions

• R&D Strategy: Times, They Are A-Changin'
  Monday, February 9, 4:30 pm - 5:45 pm
  Moderator: Ben Perkins; Managing Director, Wedbush Pacific Growth Life Sciences
  Kick off the BIOCEO event with an opening plenary session comprised of the senior executives from Big Pharma who are tasked with analyzing, recommending and executing on the decisions that affect the future of R&D for pharma…and biotech.
  
  Panelists
  - Damien McDevitt; Vice President and Head of Drug Discovery Transactions, GlaxoSmithKline
  - Jeremy Levin; Vice President of External Science, Technology, and Licensing, Bristol-Myers Squibb
  - William Ringo; Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Pfizer
• The Last Word - Prospecting 2009
  Tuesday, February 10, 4:30 pm - 5:45 pm
  Moderator: Benjamin J. Davey; Managing Director, Head of Equity Capital Markets, Wedbush Pacific Growth Life Sciences
  Join an interactive discussion with investors and analysts who have experienced the ups and downs of the biotechnology industry over the last 10-plus years. How is the economic downturn affecting their decisions on investments in the sector? Will biotech lead or lag the recovery? Does the biotech business model need to change? Where are they placing their bets in 2009?
  
  Panelists:
  - Eric Roberts, Managing Director, Caxton Advantage Venture Partners
  - Oleg Nodelman, Portfolio Manager and Partner, Biotechnology Value Fund

Business Roundtable Sessions

• The New Administration & Congress: Short or Loose Change?
  Monday, February 9, 9:30 am - 10:40 am
  Moderator - James C. Greenwood; President and CEO, BIO
  Join a lively discussion among congressional staffers, biotech political experts, and policy lawyers as they predict the impact of the change of power on the industry and discuss how the incoming administration will likely come down on the policy matters most critical to the drug development process.
• Biotech Licensing: Being Upfront about Upfront Payments
  Tuesday, February 9 3:15pm-4:20pm
  Moderator: Ben Bonifant; Vice President of Business Development, Campbell Alliance
  This panel will focus on recent deals that were characterized by especially impressive upfront payments. Business development professionals from some of the companies involved in the past year’s licensing deals will discuss how they successfully forged these deals, how they and their licensing partner calculated the deal terms and upfront payments that they did, and whether their deals serve as realistic benchmarks for future licensing around the industry.
  
  Panelists:
  - J. Donals deBethizy, Ph.D., President and CEO; Targacept
  - Fran Heller, Executive Vice President, Business Development; Exelixis
  - Perry Karsen, Head of Worldwide Business Development, Celgene
  - Barbara Yanni, Head of Business Development; Merck
  - Kleanthis G. Xanthopoulos, Ph.D., President and CEO; Regulus Therapeutics
• When Cash is King - Strategies and Trends for Royalty Monetization
  Tuesday, February 10, 11:00 am - 12:10 pm
  Moderator: Richard G. Gervase; Member, Mintz Levin
  Participate in a discussion with top royalty investors and industry executives, as they review the critical factors to consider in evaluating and executing a monetization deal and how to extract the most value from your assets.
  
  Panelists:
  - Greg Brown; Managing Director, Cowen Healthcare Royalty Partners
  - Michael Herman, Senior Vice President, Royalty Investments, Royalty Pharma
  - Ivana Magovcevic-Liebisch, Ph.D., JD, Executive Vice President of Administration and General Counsel, DYAX
• The Cure of Market Anxiety: M&A
  Tuesday, February 10, 3:15 pm - 4:20 pm
  Moderator: Glen Giovannetti; Global Biotechnology Leader, Ernst and Young
  Listen to the foot soldiers who were involved in some of the notable M&A deals of 2008, as they discuss how license deals and partnerships evolve into M&A, the rationale for doing these deals, and what makes for a successful transaction.
  
  Panelists:
  - Benjamin R. Bowen, Ph.D., Director of Investment Banking, Rodman and Renshaw
  - Mark Leuchtenberger, President & CEO, Targanta
  - Drew Fromkin, President and CEO, Clinical Data

To learn more about the BIO CEO & Investor Conference, including registration and program information, please visit http://ceo.bio.org. Registration is complimentary for qualified investors and credentialed members of the media.

Advance media registration is now available at https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=746&site=MEDIA.

The BIO CEO & Investor Conference is the largest independent investor conference focused solely on publicly-traded biotechnology companies. The meeting attracts institutional investors, industry analysts, and senior biotechnology executives. In addition, the BIO CEO & Investor Conference draws business development executives from leading global pharmaceutical and mature biotechnology companies.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,200 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.

Upcoming BIO Events

BIO CEO & Investor Conference 2009
February 9-10, 2009
New York, New York

BIO-Europe Spring
March 16-18, 2009
Milan, Italy

BIO IP Counsels' Committee Conference
March 25–27, 2009
Phoenix, Ariz.

BIO National Venture Conference
March 31–April 1, 2009
Boston, Mass.

BIO Windhover 2009
April 13-15, 2009
New York, New York

BIO-LES Business Development Basics Course
May 15–17, 2009
Atlanta, Ga.

BIO-LES Advanced Business Development Course
May 15–17, 2009
Atlanta, Ga.

BIO Executive Presentation Workshop
May 17, 2009
Atlanta, Ga.

2009 BIO International Convention
May 18-21, 2009
Atlanta, Ga.

BioEquity Europe
June 9-10, 2009
Munich, Germany

World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing
July 19-22, 2009
Montreal, Quebec, Canada