Biotech Strategy Blog

Commentary on Science, Innovation & New Products

Posts from the ‘VC & Financing’ category

Follow 2012 BIO CEO Investor Conference news on twitter #BIOCEO2012

By on February 13, 2012

New York Skyline from Empire State 300x168 Follow 2012 BIO CEO Investor Conference news on twitter #BIOCEO2012 The 2012 BIO CEO & Investor conference starts today in New York.

The meeting from February 13-14 is being held at the landmark Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

I’m looking forward to seeing some of the iconic hotel features such as the 1893 lobby clock originally produced for the Chicago World Fair.

With Wall Street analysts and investors in mind, the main focus of the 14th annual conference is on publicly traded biotechnology companies.

I expect that a number of the corporate presentations will be webcast, but if you are unable to be in NYC, you can follow the #BIOCEO2012 twitter conversation below:

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Preview of 2012 BIO CEO Investor Conference #BIOCEO2012

By on February 10, 2012

The fourteenth annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference takes place next week (February 13-14, 2012) in New York at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. I will be commuting from New Jersey so will not be experiencing at first hand the charm of staying at this iconic hotel.

BIO 2012 Investor CEO Conference Banner Preview of 2012 BIO CEO Investor Conference #BIOCEO2012The focus of the meeting is on publicly-traded biotechnology companies, and provides an opportunity for investors, analysts and industry executives to hear company presentations, undertaken one-on-one partnering discussions and listen to pharmaceutical industry leaders present their vision of the future.

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BioPharm America 2011 Biotech Partnering Conference #BPA11

By on September 7, 2011

BioPharm America 2011 Banner BioPharm America 2011 Biotech Partnering Conference #BPA11

A conference I regretably will not be at, but would have like to have attended is BioPharm America 2011 – 4th International Biotechnology Partnering Conference that is taking place in Boston from today until this Friday, September 9th.

The program overview suggests that it will be an interesting meeting with sessions on personalized medicine, business development and strategy and partnering. On friday there’s a briefing on Regenerative Medicine and Cell Therapy: The Road to Commercialization. If like me, you are unable to attend, you can follow the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #BPA11 (nice and short!).  I noticed there’s already some excellent live tweeting from the event. I’ve added an aggregator below to make it easier to follow or catch up on the news. Just click on the play button to see the tweets:  

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BIO 2011 What is the future for innovative medicines in our industry’s pipeline?

By on June 28, 2011

What is innovation? Like “strategy” and “leadership” it’s a term we frequently use, something we all seek in the biotech/pharma industry, yet it’s hard to define, even harder to develop or predict.

What is the future for innovative medicines in our industry’s pipeline? was the title of a session that I attended yesterday afternoon at BIO 2011, the annual meeting of the Biotechnology Industry Association (BIO) in Washington DC.

BIO 2011 Innovation Pipeline Session 300x168 BIO 2011 What is the future for innovative medicines in our industry’s pipeline?Moderated by John Mendlein, the panel contained some R&D heavy weights:

  • Tom Daniel, President of Research & Early Development, Celgene
  • Charles Homcy, Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures
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BIO 2011: Challenge of innovation in the biotechnology industry

By on June 22, 2011

White House Washington DC BIO 2011 Convention © Pieter Droppert 300x225 BIO 2011: Challenge of innovation in the biotechnology industryOne of the sessions at BIO 2011 in Washington DC that I hope to make if my travel plans permit, is the Monday afternoon session on “What is the Future for Innovative Medicines in Our Industry’s Pipeline?”

The June issue of Nature Reviews “Drug Discovery” attempts to answer this question by looking back at what happened to the R&D projects involving 28,000 compounds investigated since 1990.

Fabio Pammolli and colleagues analyzed the Pharmaceutical Industry Database (PhID) maintained by the IMT (Institutions, Markets, Technologies) in Lucca, Italy.

In their Drug Discovery article entitled “The productivity crisis in pharmaceutical R&D,” they reach a number of conclusions, some of which are:

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BIO 2011: Ernst & Young Global Biotechnology Report 2011

By on June 20, 2011

One of the “Super Sessions” at the forthcoming 2011 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) international convention is a presentation of the highlights of Ernst & Young’s 25th Annual Biotechnology Industry Report.

The 97 page report, available online, offers a useful summary of metrics around financing, deals and sector performance.

As the report notes, one of the key issues that biotech companies continue to face is access to funding in order to sustain innovation.  Many biotechnology executives I spoke to at the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago confirmed how difficult access to capital remained.

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BIO 2011: my top 10 sessions at the BIO International convention in Washington DC

By on June 18, 2011

BIO 2011 International Convention Washington DC BIO 2011: my top 10 sessions at the BIO International convention in Washington DC

I am excited to be attending, for the first time, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) international convention that takes place in Washington DC in just over a week’s time from Monday June 27 to Thursday, June 30th.

This meeting has something for everyone interested in the biotechnology industry whether it be deal making, partnering, licensing, drug discovery or personalized medicine. There are 16 specialized tracks where industry experts provide insight and best practices.

In addition, there are numerous networking and social events plus an exhibit hall that showcases the world’s biotech regions and how they are promoting innovation.

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BayBio 2011 Annual Conference on Powering Global Innovation

By on April 20, 2011

Today and tomorrow, Northern California’s Life Science organization BayBio has their annual meeting.  Entitled ‘Powering Global Innovation” it’s a meeting that covers a lot of ground from deal making to partnering, emerging markets and company presentations.

According to their website, they plan to be live streaming to their website.  However, if you are interested in following the Twitter discussion (hashtag #baybio2011), you can do so using the aggregator below – just click on the play button to see the tweets:

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Blueprint Medicines: a start-up to watch in Boston receives $40M in funding

By on April 11, 2011

Blueprint Medicines Blueprint Medicines: a start up to watch in Boston receives $40M in fundingThe Boston Globe today reported that Blueprint Medicines had received $40M in Series A venture funding.

The VC funding from Third Rock Ventures to the Boston/Cambridge based company is reported to be the largest early-stage funding for a New England life sciences start-up.

Many thanks to @rndubois for his tweets about this that drew it to my attention. You can read more about the financing in Blueprint’s press release.

What makes this exciting news?  First it adds to the growing reputation of Boston/Cambridge as a hot-spot for cancer research.  Blueprint Medicines will be focused on translational medicine and the development of new kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer.

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