Life Science Veterans Highlight Opportunities at BIOCOM 3rd Annual Global Partnering Conference

BIOCOM, the Southern California Life Science Association representing over 550 member companies, announced today the 26 life science professionals who will speak at the 3rd Annual Global Life Science Partnering Conference on February 27-28 at The Lodge at Torrey Pines. The conference is an exclusive global partnering and networking forum that brings together senior executives and business development professionals from leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

"The BIOCOM 3rd Annual Global Life Science Partnering Conference will feature an impressive line-up of speakers to provide insights and expertise that will be valuable for the life science community. We expect this event to generate rich dialogue and provide direct interactions for executives who are responsible for facilitating partnerships to advance their businesses," said Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Jennifer Landress of BIOCOM.

Keynote sessions include Bill Rastetter, Ph.D., Partner at Venrock interviewed by Mark Wiggins, SVP Business Development at Elcelyx Therapeutics, in a fireside chat on "Reflections on the Unexpected" and John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D., who will soon join Roche after serving for the past 11 years as Faculty Member and CEO of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute.

The speakers for the Business Development Panel include Marty Birkhofer, M.D., Vice President of the Strategic Transactions Group at Bristol-Myers Squibb; Brian McVeigh, Vice President of WWBD Transactions and Investment Management at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals; Tony Rosenberg, Head of Global BD & Licensing at Novartis; and Barbara Yanni, J.D., L.L.M., C.L.P., Vice President and Chief Licensing Officer at Merck.
There will be a CEO Panel at 8:30AM on February 28th focusing on "Building a Successful New Company" featuring Alain Baron, M.D., President & CEO, Director at Elcelyx Therapeutics; Dan Burgess, President & CEO at Rempex Pharmaceuticals; Rich Heyman, Ph.D., President and CEO at Aragon Pharmaceuticals; and Gonul Velicelebi, Ph.D., Founder, President and CEO at CalciMedica.

At 12:15PM on February 28th, there will be another senior executive panel discussing "Trends in Business Development" featuring Richard Brudnick, Vice President and Co-Head of Business Development at Biogen-Idec; George S. Golumbeski, Ph.D., SVP of Business Development at Celgene Corporation; Iain Dukes, Vice President of External Research and Development at Amgen; and Rob Wills, Ph.D., Vice President of Alliance Management at Johnson & Johnson.

The last panel of the conference will be focusing on "Venture Financing" and will include Corey Goodman, Ph.D., Managing Partner and Co-Founder at venBIO LLC; David Kabakoff, Ph.D., Executive Partner at Sofinnova Ventures; Carole Nuechterlein, Head at Roche Venture Fund; Heather Preston, M.D., Managing Director at TPG Biotechnology; and James Topper, M.D., Ph.D., General Partner at Frazier Healthcare.

Additional presenters include: Kleanthis Xanthopoulos, Ph.D., President and CEO of Regulus Therapeutics speaking about "Going Public in a Challenging Environment;" Kurt Graves, Chairman & CEO of Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.; Lewis Geffen, Co-Chair of the VC and Emerging Companies Practice at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo; and Michael Ross, Ph.D., Managing Partner at SV Life Sciences.

The conference will take place inside the Lodge at Torrey Pines from 7:30AM – 7:30PM on both days and will include breakfast, one-on-one partnering meetings, individual company presentations, senior executive panels, a networking lunch and end with a gala reception.