NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, & CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Biotech Showcase™, one of the largest biotech investor conferences in the world, presents this year’s conference agenda which highlights six therapeutic areas that are garnering investment interest in 2019. The event, held January 7-9, 2019 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square, brings more than 3,600 decision makers from 2,200 biotech, financial, and pharma companies to network and share insights on industry trends through plenary sessions and panels. More than $330 billion in capital is expected to be represented by this year’s attendees.
“Biotech Showcase continues to be a pivotal forum for connecting biotechnology and pharmaceutical leaders with potential investors and partners to engage in discussions that drive the future of drug development,” said Sara Jane Demy, Founder and CEO, Demy-Colton. “Over the last eleven years the event has built a reputation for attracting companies and speakers that are leading the way in revolutionizing healthcare and providing key insights into industry trends that will shape the coming year.”
More than 900 investors from around the world are expected to attend, drawn to the estimated 400 public and private company presentations from international biotech companies ranging from public mid- and small-cap to private venture and angel-backed life science companies.
“During biotech’s biggest week, Biotech Showcase has become a strategic event that sets the tone for investing and collaboration over the next year,” Anna Chrisman, Group Managing Director, EBD Group and KNect365 Life Sciences. “Life science leaders from across the globe gather at this event to hear from presenting companies and benefit from the workshops, insightful panels and plenary sessions, networking, and one-to-one meetings that facilitate impactful dealmaking activities.”
This year’s agenda includes a focus on six therapeutic areas that are seeing intriguing research, innovative technologies, and the promise of transforming the way diseases are treated across the globe. Biotech Showcase has assembled panels of high caliber speakers to discuss how advancements and investment in these areas will change the future of healthcare.
Alzheimer’s Disease – Reexamining Alzheimer’s: Is it a singular disease?
Panelists discuss what has been learned about Alzheimer’s and how this can inform better strategies for developing therapeutics going forward.
- Moderator: Kim Goh, Principal at ClearView Healthcare Partners
- Casey Lynch, CEO at Cortexyme
- Kenneth I. Moch, President and CEO at Cognition Therapeutics, Inc.
- John Vandermosten, Senior Biotech Analyst at Zacks
Cell and Gene Therapy – The financing surge
The overwhelming enthusiasm for this sector has resulted in historical levels of fundraising and an uptick in high-value early stage acquisitions. This panel will look at what opportunities remain and what investors need to understand about ensuring these therapies thrive.
- Moderator: Reni Benjamin, Managing Director and Senior Biotechnology Analyst at Raymond James
Immuno-Oncology – Investing in next gen immunotherapies: Moving the checkpoint inhibitors to the next level
The promise of checkpoint inhibitors has been met with excitement and disappointment. Panelists will discuss what it will take to see more substantial advancements in this therapeutic area.
- Moderator: Jeffery Bockman, Executive VP, Oncology Practice Head at Defined Health, a Cello Health Business
- Asthika Goonewardene, Senior Biotechnology Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
- Bibhash Mukhopadhyay, Principal at New Enterprise Associates
- Robert Ross, Chief Medical Officer at Surface Oncology Inc
- Thomas J. Schuetz, Co-founder and CEO at Compass Therapeutics
NASH – NASH MOAs: A highly competitive playing field
Development of therapeutics and diagnostics around this complicated disease is rapidly becoming one of the more competitive therapeutic areas. Panelists will discuss which mechanisms of action may hold the most potential for approvals in 2019.
- Moderator: Yasmeen Rahimi, Managing Director, Senior Research Analyst at Roth
- Carol Gallagher, Partner at NEA
- Tomas Landh, Innovation Sourcing VP, Senior Principal Scientist at Novo Nordisk
- Brian Lian, President and CEO at Viking Therapeutics
- Rohan Palekar, CEO at 89bio
Rare and Orphan Diseases – The biotech industry poised to make a dent in treatment and diagnosis
Regulatory benefits, new technologies, as well as market and pricing advantages have led to an increase in companies focusing on development of treatments or cures for rare diseases. This panel discusses attractive and exciting investment opportunities in this space.
- Moderator: Ted Tenthoff, Analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co
RNA – The year of RNA and the start of a new era
With many of the initial hurdles in delivery and efficacy addressed, the biotech industry has propelled a variety of novel approaches into the clinic such as small activating RNAs, microRNAs, and patient specific therapeutics based on mRNAs. This panel will look at what is next for this expanding therapeutic area.
- Moderator: Mani Foroohar, Managing Director, Senior Research Analyst at Leerink Partners
- Mariola Fotin-Mlecze, CTO at CureVac
- Robert Habib, CEO at MiNA Therapeutics
- Sean Marett, CBO and CCO at BioNTech
- Romesh Subramanian, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Atlas Venture
Concurrent with Biotech Showcase, two specialty events provide presentations and panels that focus on China’s emerging market and the intersection of technology and medicine. China Showcase provides attendees an opportunity to capitalize on cross-border investment and collaborations while learning about best practices and strategies for dealmaking in China. Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase will feature a series of presentations and thought leaders who can speak to the evolving regulatory framework, leveraging big data to transform clinical care, and how new technologies are blazing trails towards commercialization.
For more information or to register for the event, go to BiotechShowcase.com. Credentialed press can apply for free registration online here. Follow Biotech Showcase on Twitter: @EBDGroup and @Demy_Colton (hashtag: #BiotechShowcase).
About Demy-Colton
Since 2008, Demy-Colton has been at the forefront of building networks between leaders from innovative biotech companies and industry stakeholders to examine and address biotech opportunities and challenges and deliver on the promise of transformational science.
We do this through facilitating networking and biotech community development on an international scale. Our investor conferences and CEO Summits expand communities that transcend geographical boundaries establishing ongoing, high-value relationships that contributes greatly to the evolution of the biopharmaceutical ecosystems we cultivate.
We set a unique stage where biotech leaders, investors, and stakeholders can connect to realize significant opportunities for investment, learning, and growth. Our events spur introductions and thoughtful conversations. In turn, inspiration, ideas, and opportunities for investment flow. Demy-Colton’s expanding portfolio of conferences includes:
- Biotech Showcase™ – a unique forum in San Francisco for presenting to investors and business development executives
- Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase™ – A two and a half day meeting, coinciding with Biotech Showcase, where key opinion leaders, investors and CEOs in the digital medicine and medtech spaces examine the latest industry advances and trends.
- China Showcase – A one-day meeting, coinciding with Biotech Showcase, that highlights cross-border biotech investment and collaboration opportunities between China and the U.S.
- Biotech CEO Summit™ – An invitation-only, thought-provoking meeting for biotech industry leaders united by the common goal of driving responsible growth and innovation
- Biotech CEO Summit Europe™ – An invitation-only, one-of-a-kind event dedicated to helping the leadership of newly public and late stage private biotech companies navigate the constantly evolving biotech landscape
About EBD Group
EBD Group's overriding mission is to help collaborations get started across the life science value chain. Our range of partnering conferences has grown to become the largest and most productive conference platform in the industry. Each one of our seven landmark events held in key life science markets around the world is powered by our state-of-the-art partnering software, partneringONE®, that enables delegates to efficiently identify and engage with new opportunities via one-to-one meetings.
Today our events (BIO-Europe®, BIO-Europe Spring®, BioPharm America™, Biotech Showcase™, China Showcase, Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase, ChinaBio® Partnering Forum, Cell & Gene Connect, and BioEquity Europe) annually attract more than 12,000 senior life science executives who engage in over 48,000 one-to-one partnering meetings. These vital one-to-one engagements are the wellspring of deals that drive innovation in our industry.
Tune into EBD Group’s Partnering Insight for timely coverage of news that influences the business strategies of the life science industry. EBD Group is an Informa company. For more information please visit www.ebdgroup.com.