As partnering transactions continue at record–breaking rates and deals continue as the defining industry trend, the critical question confronting big pharma is not if they should embrace earlier stage deals, but how to best take advantage of them. As the top 20 big pharma companies attend BIO–Europe 2008 in Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany, November 17-19, they will confront this and other critical industry issues in a comprehensive series of panels and workshops.
BIO–Europe 2008 will hand over this year´s highly anticipated opening plenary to several of the biotech industry´s sharpest minds in a session entitled "Rethinking R&D: Can Big Pharma Address the Productivity Gap through Earlier Stage Collaborations?" In an attempt to shed light on how to benefit from early stage deals, Vaughn M. Kailian, General Partner, MPM Capital will lead a discussion with Dr. Ted Torphy, CSO and Head, External Research and Early Development, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Bernhard Kirschbaum, Executive VP, Research, Member of the Executive Board, Merck Serono, Barbara Yanni, VP and Chief Licensing Officer, Merck & Co, and other forward thinking R&D executives from big pharma and biotech who have concluded significant platform or early stage deals with pharma partners or acquirers.
Other conference highlights include:
- Financing Companies / Building Companies - Two Sides of the Same Coin or Different Currencies?
Moderated by Dr. Siegfried Bialojan, Industry Leader Health Sciences, E&Y Germany, this session will discuss the inherent tension between long development times and financing.
Most investors would argue that the best way to handle risk and secure a successful exit is "building strong enterprises". However, venture capital investors"”especially in
Europe"”struggle in fundraising and are forced to provide fast "financial returns". Building strong companies for long–term financial success is therefore often sacrificed for the sake of establishing a short–term track record, despite the realization that strong enterprises are essential to a solid biotech industry in Europe and a sustained trust in the investment community.
- Demonstrating the Value of New Drugs
One of the more difficult tasks for the biopharmaceutical industry is to explain the value of new drugs to the wide variety of constituencies with which it interacts, all of which have a vested interest in minimizing the value of new drugs to the system. Successfully demonstrating value is critical if the industry is to obtain adequate reimbursement for its products, yet the environment where the industry operates continues to put up more hurdles: FDA is increasingly emphasizing safety in response to political pressures; there is growing emphasis on comparative efficacy and comparative effectiveness; and there is the potential of a new U.S. president less friendly to the industry. Moderated by Dr. Karen Bernstein, Chairman and Editor in Chief, BioCentury Publications, this panel will explore how companies can navigate these troubled waters.
- What Buyers Want: Understanding What Big Pharma Expects to See in Out–Licensing Documents
While the number varies depending on the size of a given therapeutic area, business development professionals at most of the top 10 pharmaceutical and biotech companies review hundreds of non–confidential documents each year to evaluate compounds´ in–licensing potential. Out–licensors invest a significant amount of time and resources developing non–confidential documents to help illustrate their products´ attributes in the hope of landing that much needed deal, but what are the key characteristics of a product or company that lead licensing reviewers to move to confidential discussions?
Ben Bonifant, VP, Business Development, Campbell Alliance will lead this interactive round–table that will:
–– Share the results of a survey in which senior licensing executives at large pharma and biotech companies were queried on what information they see––and expect to see––in out–licensing documents | ||||
–– Provide a comprehensive cost/benefit analysis of how to gather and provide information that is essential to a compelling out–licensing document | ||||
–– Share first–hand case examples during a moderated question–and–answer session regarding what they prefer to see in out–licensing documents |
Notes to Editors:
Entry to BIO–Europe 2008 is free to the media, including full access to the partnering system, sessions, press conferences, workshops, and pre–arranged partnering meetings. Visit the
BIO–Europe conference Web site at http://www.ebdgroup.com/bioeurope for detailed information on this year´s conference and for online registration. When you register online, please indicate in the comment field that you are requesting a complimentary press registration. Please fax a copy of your press pass to complete your complimentary media registration to fax number +49 89 23 88 756 – 55.
About BIO–Europe
BIO–Europe is the preeminent stand–alone partnering event for the biotechnology industry. Delegates from all parts of the biotechnology value–chain come to BIO–Europe to efficiently identify, engage and enter into the strategic relationships that drive their business successfully forward. The annual BIO–Europe partnering event draws over 2,200 industry attendees from almost 50 countries, representing more than 1,250 companies, for three days of high–level networking. BIO–Europe is organized by EBD Group with the support of the Biotechnology Industry Organization and European Biopharmaceutical Enterprises.
About EBD Group
EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global life science industry. Since 1993, biotech, pharma and medical device companies have leveraged EBD Group´s partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships essential to their success.
EBD Group´s conferences are run with the support of leading corporations and international trade associations and include:
–– BIO–Europe and BIO–Europe Spring®, the world´s largest stand–alone life science partnering conferences, supported by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) | ||||
–– BioPharm America TM, EBD Group´s North American partnering event | ||||
–– EuroMedtech TM, EBD Group´s new partnering event for the innovative medical technology industry | ||||
–– BioEquity Europe, the investor conference co–organized with BioCentury Publications and BIO |
EBD Group´s sophisticated Web–based partnering service, partneringONE TM, is used as the partnering engine at numerous third–party events around the world. Outside of the conference format, EBD Group´s consultants provide hands–on assistance for firms seeking to in– or out–license products and technologies.
EBD Group has offices in the USA and Europe.
For more information please visit www.ebdgroup.com.
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.