Mid-Atlantic Bio

PhRMA and BIO Leaders to Jointly Address Mid-Atlantic Bio Conference

Mid-Atlantic Bio today announced that John J. Castellani, the new President and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and James Greenwood, the President and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) will share the stage and address attendees in a joint plenary session at 2010 Mid-Atlantic Bio Conference, on October 29 at the North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Md.

As president and CEO of PhRMA, Castellani leads the association’s mission of effectively advocating for public policies that foster the discovery of life-saving and life-enhancing new medicines for patients by America’s biopharmaceutical companies. PhRMA represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology research companies, which are devoted to developing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier and more productive lives.

James Greenwood leads the advocacy efforts for BIO in shaping public policy on a variety of fronts critical to the success of the biotechnology industry at the state and national levels as well as internationally. BIO has more than 1,100 members that are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products across the United States and in more than 30 other nations.

“We are very privileged to have both the BIO and PhRMA leaders join us at our event and address the attendees,” said Virginia Biotechnology Association Executive Director, Mark A. Herzog. “With these organizations representing the nation’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotech companies, it is important to have such strong advocates for our industry speaking at the event. With adding these two leaders to our plenary session line-up, we truly have a program that is unrivaled and demonstrates the Mid-Atlantic region’s access and power in this industry.”

Castellani and Greenwood join the already impressive list of plenary speakers for Mid-Atlantic Bio, including John F. Crowley, JD, MBA, Chairman and CEO, Amicus Therapeutics; Frederick Frank, Vice Chairman, Peter J. Solomon Company; Martine A. Rothblatt, PhD, JD, MBA, Chairman and CEO of United Therapeutics Corporation; Joshua M. Sharfstein, M.D., Principal Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and H. Thomas Watkins, President and CEO, Human Genome Sciences.

Now in its sixth year, Mid-Atlantic Bio is the only globally-focused, yet regionally-based, event to combine components of a bioscience industry convention with an investor conference under one roof. More than 800 national and international industry leaders, government representatives, executives, industry and academic researchers, investors, entrepreneurs, and professional services firms will gather to promote networking, business expansion, and technical-knowledge sharing. Home to industry-critical regulatory and research agencies; federal policymaking; and business and scientific centers of excellence, the Mid-Atlantic is a unique center for the global bioscience industry.

Conference Sessions:
Designed to be a platform that brings together science, company builders, commercial interests
and collaborators, capital sources, and federal and regulatory thought-leaders, the 2010 program includes a variety of important industry topics—ranging from the latest in policy and regulatory matters, business and financing opportunities, and CEO War Stories to advances in science and technology—and showcases exciting companies from the biosciences field. A few of the highlighted sessions include:

• Building a Workforce Culture Around Commercialization
• Corporate Venture and Early Stage Partnerships
• New Science Technologies: Regional Successes
• Drugs and Devices: Reimbursement in a Post-Healthcare Reform World
• Capital Eco-Systems: Formation and International Markets
• An Insider’s View on Washington
• Synthetic Biology – Applications and Implications
• Accessing the Regulatory Risk: Your Path to Approval
• CEO War Stories: A Roundtable

Company Presentations:
Each year at Mid-Atlantic Bio, a number of life science companies are chosen to present before an audience of capital sources, including corporate business development professionals, peer scientists and company leaders, venture capitalists, angel investors, and various other qualified financing sources along with important industry professionals and potential strategic partners.

BioMatch:
Mid-Atlantic Bio’s signature networking program, BioMatch is designed specifically for the life sciences and biotech industries, and provides registered attendees access to advanced partnering software that facilitates personalized, one-on-one meetings between the leading bioscience organizations and industry leaders.

Partial List of Conference Sponsors:
MD Biotechnology Center, MedImmune, Biotechnology Industry Organization, BioMed Realty Trust, Inc., BDO, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., Janelia Farms Research Campus of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, NIH Federal Credit Union, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, James Madison University, Broad Oak Partners, H.I.G. BioVentures, CIT Gap Funds, Intersouth Partners, New Enterprises Associates, Oxford Finance, TEDCO, Third Security, LLC

ABOUT MID-ATLANTIC BIO
The Mid-Atlantic Bio Conference, scheduled October 27-29, 2010, in Bethesda, Maryland, is co-hosted by the Tech Council of Maryland (TCM),  the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association (MAVA), and the Virginia Biotechnology Association (VaBIO). Mid-Atlantic Bio benefits from broad regional support from the investor and greater business communities, academic institutions, government agencies, and partnering regional associations. For more information, or to register or sponsor, please visit www.midatlanticbio.org.

PhRMA-BIO Press Release  (Full .pdf version)