Eighth Annual BIO Investor Forum to Address Health Care Reform, Current Issues and Opportunities in the Biotech Industry

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announced Plenary Session and Business Roundtable topics for the Eighth Annual BIO Investor Forum, taking place October 28-29 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Calif. The conference will feature sessions addressing current investment and financing trends in the biotechnology industry and more than 100 presentations by selected late-stage private and emerging public companies.

“Healthcare Reform - Sustaining Biotech Innovation in a New World”

"We are coming out of a period of intense pressure and conservatism in life sciences investment, while in the midst of an extraordinary policy debate on how to reform our health care system," said Alan Eisenberg, executive vice president, Emerging Companies & Business Development at BIO. “Plenary sessions and Business Roundtables at the BIO Investor Forum will offer attendees an expert and pragmatic perspective on these and other major issues currently facing our industry.”

The 2009 BIO Investor Forum kicks off with an expert Plenary session, “Healthcare Reform - Sustaining Biotech Innovation in a New World,” moderated by Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of BIO. Health care policy and congressional staff advisors entrenched in the health care reform debate will come together to discuss the issues and policies that will affect the biotechnology industry, including capital formation, biosimilars, comparative effectiveness research and reimbursement strategies. As a BIO first, this live session will be broadcast from the midst of the action in Washington, DC, as a special event for registered conference attendees.

In a year where new models for both investing in and sustaining the biotech industry are emerging, the Business Roundtables at the BIO Investor Forum will delve into the business and financing issues facing biotech investors and emerging biotech companies today. A timely case study of new M&A deal structures will feature a transaction just announced in October, and explore innovative deal terms used to facilitate transactions with input from the key players.

Other topics will include a rigorous and realistic assessment of the biotech IPO opportunity and the public markets, and an expert discussion designed to correlate clinical trial design strategy with business development outcomes. The conference will close with a Plenary Session focused on identifying the catalysts needed to reinvigorate capital access in the biotech sector and the events that signal the industry is poised to begin a new phase of growth.

Leading company executives and seasoned analysts and investors featured on panels include:

Opening Plenary Session
Healthcare Reform: Sustaining Biotech Innovation in a New World
Wednesday, October 28^th, 2009, 12:00pm-1:30pm

• Jim Greenwood, President and CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organization
• David Bowen, Ph.D, Staff Director, Health Policy, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
• Michelle Easton, Partner, Tarplin, Downs and Young, LLC
• Rick Weissenstein, Senior Vice President, Healthcare Services Analyst, Washington Research Group

Window Shopping—The Buyer’s Perspective on Today’s IPO Candidates
Wednesday, October 28^th, 2009, 3:30pm-4:45pm

• Christopher D. Earl Ph.D, Former President and CEO, BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH),
• J. Donald deBethizy, Ph.D., President and CEO, Targacept
• Ashley Dombkowski, Ph.D., Managing Director, MPM Capital
• Daniel Lyons, Ph.D., CFA, Equity Research Analyst, Janus Capital
• Bryan Roberts, Ph.D., Partner, Venrock
• Timothy C. Rodell, M.D., President and CEO, GlobeImmune, Inc.

Clinical Trials that Seal the Deal—How to Design with Strategy in Mind
Thursday, October 29^th, 9:30am-10:45am

• Keavan Anderson, Ph.D., Executive Director - Late Stage Development, Merck Research Laboratories
• Timothy Herpin, Ph.D.; Head of U.S. Search , Strategic Transactions Group, Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Roger Hill, Ph.D., MBA, Executive Director - Licensing & Business Development, Boehringer Ingelheim
• Joel Verter, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Statistics Collaborative, Inc.

Testing the Water—Can New Deal Structures De-Risk M&A?
Thursday, October 29^th, 12:30pm-1:45pm

• Marc Grasso, MD, Managing Director, Head of West Coast Investment Banking, Leerink Swann
• Jeffrey R. Greene, Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP
• Paul J. Hastings, President and CEO, OncoMed Pharmaceuticals
• Craig C. Parker, Senior VP, Finance & Corporate Development & Chief Finance Officer, Proteolix, Inc.

Closing Plenary Session
The Last Word: Forecasting 2010
Thursday, October 29^th, 4:00pm-5:15pm

• George Milstein, Managing Director, Healthcare Mergers and Acquisitions, Wedbush PacGrow Life Sciences
• Michelle S. Doig, Principal, Corporate Finance, Abingworth
• Howard Furst, M.D., Partner, Deerfield Management
• Evan McCulloch, CFA, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, Franklin Templeton Investments
• Oleg Nodelman, Portfolio Manager, Biotechnology Value Fund, LP
• Deepa Pakianathan, Ph.D., Partner, Delphi Ventures

To access the entire program and registration, visit: http://investorforum.bio.org. Registration is complimentary for qualified investors and credentialed members of the media. Advance media registration is available at: https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=693&site=MEDIA.

For more information and insights on the companies and advocacy organizations presenting at the BIO Investor Forum, check out our new blog at http://businessofbiotech.wordpress.com.

About the BIO Investor Forum

The BIO Investor Forum is a national investor conference features over 100 company presentations by leading private and emerging public companies. The meeting attracts sophisticated healthcare venture and private equity investors, buy-side investors and research analysts. A premier industry networking opportunity, the BIO Investor Forum 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 Investor Forum
October 28-29, 2009
San Francisco, CA

Advanced Business Development Course
October 30, 2009
Vienna, Austria

BIO Europe International Partnering Conference
November 2-4, 2009
Vienna, Austria

Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy
November 8-11, 2009
Honolulu, HI

BIO Asia Partnering Conference
January 25-26, 2010
Tokyo, Japan

BIO CEO & Investor Conference
February 8-9, 2010
New York, NY