• 2013 Program

• 2013 Speakers

Beat the Monday rush and avoid long lineups by visiting the registration desk and checking-in on Sunday. Here you can collect your name badge, conference program and handbag materials, and be on your way to the Opening Reception where you can jump-start your networking.

We invite you to join us as we kick off the 11th Annual BioPartnering North America with a Welcome Reception in the East Foyer. 

Sponsored by: 

Sponsored by: Italian Trade Commission

Technology, economics and demographics are rapidly changing the landscape of medicine on an unprecedented scale. The life science industry is significantly affected by all three of these factors. New technologies such as wireless devices, the Internet and personalized medicine including genomics, are creating a more cost-effective, timely and patient-centric approach to healthcare.

Economics play a huge role in driving these changes, as individuals, companies and governments strive to manage the cost curve of healthcare. In most countries, demographics are changing the financial realities of healthcare systems, with aging populations consuming ever-greater shares of resources.

Genomics and new, disruptive and innovative solutions are being presented to address these issues, which affect how research is being translated into improved healthcare – new drugs, new devices, new therapies and new systems. More and more, these involve collaboration between non-traditional partners. In this visionary session, BioPartnering North America will present a variety of perspectives on addressing these challenges, and examples of the opportunities that are being created that all delegates may consider as they strategically plan for the future.

Leverage these “Megatrends” to your advantage now!

Connect with leading biotechnology companies, services and regions during the two-day exhibition showcase.

Companies will be available for informal face-to-face meetings for 30 minutes immediately following their presentation time.

Sponsored by:

Sponsored by:

As getting new drugs and other therapeutic products to market becomes more and more difficult, and the associated costs and risks become greater and greater, the various players in this equation (from academic institutions and granting agencies to translational research organizations to foundations and industry) must find new ways to come together to support innovation by effectively de-risking new technologies, and filling the gaps in the development continuum. In this context, this session will provide case studies on British Columbia’s ecosystem for fostering pre-competitive research, and translating that research into new therapies for patients through unique public-private partnership models.

Italian Trade Commission

Italian Biotech: Potentialities and Opportunities

Why would Italy be a strategic partner for the Canadian biotech companies? Biotech industry in Italy is growing up, thanks to 238 companies that invest 24% of their revenues in R&D that is much more than the average of manufacturing sector (1%), more than 90% of pharmaceutical research is funded by the companies themselves and the remaining 10% by the public funds. Our research is concentrated in the early stages. Feeding the innovation of pharmaceutical companies has a critical role in clinical development with a growing synergy between pharmaceutical companies (195 in Italy) and biotech research. The result is an increasing pipeline of 319 products in development and 84 in discovery. The increasing demand for drugs and the simplified approval process by the Italian authorities for clinical trials on new medicines have facilitated the pharmaceutical industry in Italy to progress significantly. In healthcare, when comparing the Italian biotech industry with that of the other countries a peculiarity can be noticed: Italian scientists have carved out a niche in immunology, oncology, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases, the fastest growing markets in therapeutics with a lot of unmet medical needs.

Merck & Co., Inc.

Combining our Strengths: Merck's Approach to Licensing

Scientific scout Steven Bartz will highlight how Merck’s Licensing & Acquisition team is focused on seeking new alliances that will translate cutting-edge science into breakthrough medicines. 2012 was a banner year for partnerships at Merck with a record number of deals executed. Learn which deals helped transform their R&D pipeline and what Merck licensing is looking for in 2013 to move medicine forward.

Companies will be available for informal face-to-face meetings for 30 minutes immediately following their presentation time.

Sponsored by:

Sponsored by:

Network and visit with other delegates in a casual setting at Steamworks Brewing Company. Choose from a fantastic variety of craft beers, delicious wines and tasty bites at one of Vancouver’s landmark brewpubs.

Traditionally biotech startup financing came from friends, family, angel investors and VC's. Recently, this form of investment capital has become scarce: VC's are having difficulty raising funds and some are closing shop entirely. It is harder for entrepreneurs to raise startup capital, and that which is available is risk-adverse. Such desperate times as these however, often result in innovative ways to advance, and so it is that new approaches to the Biopharma Business Model are evolving.

The early stages of public and private money coming together in new ways is starting to re-invigorate the industry, enabling R&D and innovation in life science to continue.

Not-for-profit organizations are funding drug development, platform and tool development for every aspect of biotech; their goal is to identify and support early stage ideas and fund them to the POC stage.

Big pharma companies have established their own venture funds to access innovation and find early stage ideas more effectively. Many do not want a controlling position in the company (unlike traditional VC) and their participation can attract other investors. In addition, because pharma money is involved, significant infrastructure is already in place, ready to advance successful ideas and drugs through the approval process and speed development of those solutions to address the needs of patients.

Concepts that were unheard of five years ago, such as partnering with competitors on open innovation projects, the co-development of classes of therapeutic drugs, or big pharma working with tech and telecom companies to access and assist patients in new ways, are fast becoming a norm.

Join us as the panel discusses the evolution of financing biotech and highlights new mandates and ways of collaborating.

Connect with leading biotechnology companies, services and regions during the two-day exhibition showcase.

Companies will be available for informal face-to-face meetings for 30 minutes immediately following their presentation time.

Sponsored by:

Sponsored by:

Companies will be available for informal face-to-face meetings for 30 minutes immediately following their presentation time.

Sponsored by:

UBiFrance

Partnering with France

UBiFrance North America – The French Trade Commission is delighted to present the French biotech expertise and stimulate partnering opportunities in the areas of metabolic flux analysis, diabetes, inflammation and oxidative stress, nanofitins (affinity ligands), as well as antibody discovery and biomanufacturing.

Life sciences is inherently a tough business, and a high-risk investment proposition, with huge cost and length of time necessary to bring most products to market, daunting regulatory hurdles, and the complexity of the science itself. Compounding that picture today are a number of disturbing events and trends, including reticence towards the industry by many investors, in both public and private capital markets, and a corresponding major shift in some parts of the venture capital industry, the lack of public market liquidity, escalating new product discovery costs, and the like.

What do these trends and events mean for the industry, and the position of Canada and the United States in the global market and in science leadership, in the creation of new drugs, devices and analytical instruments? Will the industry shrink further? Will it survive? Is this just a normal periodic settling out of the industry or is it an alarming trend? Will Canada and the U.S. continue to be the center of the industry or will we lose leadership to countries willing to pour money into the industry?

This panel of experts tackle these issues with a hard-hitting and realistic “think-tank” approach. Expect a lively interactive discussion about what’s going on now - and what can be expected in the future and what it all means for your company, and the industry as a whole.