Tuesday, June 21 - Investment and Partnering
(All times in EDT)
Addressing policy influences on the biotech sector in a post-pandemic environment
09:00am Chair’s opening remarks
9:05am Welcome address
Joseph Boncore, CEO, MassBio; Former Massachusetts State Senator (2016-2021)
9:20am Keynote presentation: Delivering on the promise of the biotech pipeline in a challenging public market environment.
Peter Wright, Partner, McKinsey
9:30am Keynote panel: Delivering on the promise of the biotech pipeline in a challenging public market environment
In 2020 and early 2021, the biotech market was flying with high valuations and an unprecedented run of public offerings. Today, biotech leaders and investors are managing through one of the worst periods of sector performance in decades. This session explores the situations that biotechs are currently facing, recent shifts in the biotech investment landscape, and how biotechs and investors can navigate a challenging public market to deliver on the promise of the biotech pipeline. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Sean Ryan, Partner, McKinsey
Doug Giordano, Managing Director, Perceptive Advisors
Brad Loncar, Chief Executive Officer, Loncar Investments
Elizabeth Mily, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Jernej Godec, Principal, Atlas Ventures
10:15am Keynote Fireside Chat: Navigating regulation and compliance in 2022 and beyond
Bringing depth of experience across assorted government agencies, this conversation offers an insiders’ perspective on regulatory and compliance issues as well as strategic business advice for companies seeking approvals from 2022 and beyond. Discussion includes:
Stephen Hahn, CEO & Partner, Flagship Pioneering; CEO, Harbinger Health; Former US FDA Commissioner (2019-2021)
Host: Stacy Cline Amin, Partner, Morrison Foerster; Former Chief Counsel of the FDA and Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services (HS)
10:45am Coffee break and refreshments
How to build a successful biotech company
11:15am Company Panel: Building a “forever biotech” – exploring early foundation, sustainable capital and pipeline expansion
This session draws on the expertise of successful biotech founders, exploring the step-by-step process, key success factors and potential pitfalls of building and growing a biotech company. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Matthew Cardinal, VP Strategy & Program Leadership, Halloran Consulting
Sharon Cunningham, CEO, Shorla Oncology
Jennifer Petter, Founder and CIO, Arrakis Therapeutics
Sree Kant, Founder & CEO, Bakx Therapeutics
11:55am Investor Panel: Investors or company builders? Unpicking science-driven VC
This session looks at how to build quality biotech companies from scratch, from the perspective of VC company builders. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Sally Wang Liang, Venture Partner, Viva Bioinnovator
Christina Isacson, Partner, Lightstone Ventures
Nina Kjellson, General Partner, Canaan
Nilay Thakar, Principal, ARCH Venture Partners
Stephen Curtis, Managing Director, MPM Capital
Investor insights
12:35pm Investor Panel: Risks vs rewards – how investors evaluate innovation and how to capitalize
This session explores how investors evaluate “the next big thing” and what biotech founders with novel or innovative technologies can do to put their best feet forwards. Discussion includes:
Christine Brennan, Managing Director, Vertex Ventures HC
Andrea Jackson, Director, Northpond Ventures
Tom Marron, Vice President, Venture Science, Eli Lilly
Moderator: Michael Cohen, Partner, Brown Rudnick
Moderator: Adam Schoen, Partner, Brown Rudnick
1:15pm Lunch
2:15pm Investor Panel: Syndication in practice
This session looks at how syndications are established, negotiated, and completed, with a focus on common pitfalls and what biotech executives need to be aware of throughout the process. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Alex Philippidis, Senior Business Editor, Genetic Engineering News
Maha Katabi, General Partner, Sofinnova Investments
Chris O'Donnell, Vice President, WRDM and Partner, Pfizer Ventures
Matthew Roden, Executive Partner, MPM Capital; Chief Executive Officer, AKTIS Oncology
2:55pm Expert Insight Panel: Driving diversity and healthcare equality through investments and partnerships
The impact of healthcare inequality has never been more evident that during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the importance of diverse teams and inclusion within companies is well documented as a “must have” for biotechs and investors alike, the real potential for social good is perhaps lagging. This session looks at how investment and partnerships broadly can be used to drive company diversity and expanded product scope with the goal of reducing healthcare inequality, for both social and commercial good. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Ramani Varanasi, Managing Director, ReVive Advisors
Lizabeth Leveille, Vice President and Head, Boston & European Innovation Hubs & Discovery Transactions, Merck
Minji Kim, General Manager, AffaMed Digital
Julianne Zimmerman, Managing Director, Reinventure Capital
Cindy Mesaros, Head of Brand & People, Foresite Capital
Andrea Conner, Vice President Programs Strategy, Springboard Enterprises
3:35pm Pharma Partnering Presentation
Konstantina Katcheves, SVP, Business Development, Innovative Technologies & Geographic Search, Bristol Myers Squibb
3:50pm Expert Insight Panel: What makes a successful partnership? Creating a win-win environment for Big Pharma and early-stage innovators
Partnerships between pharma and early-stage biotech have sparked the development of some of the most interesting and important new drugs on the horizon, from cell therapies through to nucleic acid. This session looks at what makes a successful partnership and how biotechs can best work with Big Pharma companies to advance drug programs. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Gregory Benning, Managing Director, Group Head - Investment Banking, Back Bay Life Science Advisors
Stuart Mackey, Global Head of Business Development, Daiichi Sankyo
Jens Bitsch-Norhave, VP, Transactions & Innovation Partnering, East North America, J&J Innovation
Sam O'Connor, Head, Business and Operations, Emerging Sciences & Innovation (ES&I), Pfizer
Travis Coy, Vice President, Transaction and M&A, Corporate Business Development, Eli Lilly
Partnering to drive innovation
4:35pm Pharma Partnering Presentation
Sahil Kirpekar, Head of Business Development, Otsuka
4:50pm Expert Insight Panel: Finding the next CRISPR – strategic advances in unlocking promising research for industrial purposes
The worlds of academia and industry are thankfully closer than ever, bringing a promising combination of genuine innovation together with funds and business acumen. This session looks at the increasingly important role of technology transfer and accelerators in bringing novel technologies to industry and ultimately, to patients. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Marc Appel, CEO, Orange Grove Bio
Amir Naiberg, Associate Vice Chancellor and CEO & President, UCLA Technology Development Group
Paul Roben, Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation & Commercialisation, UC San Diego
Steven Neier, Principal, Binney Street Capital, Dana Farber Ventures Fund
Dominique Verhelle, CEO and Co-Founder, NextRNA Therapeutics
5:30pm Networking Drinks Reception
The networking drinks reception takes place Tuesday, June 21. Attendees can look forward to a fantastic night of networking and double down on their event relationship building.
Wednesday, June 22 - Strategy and Capital Deployment
(All times in EDT)
People, partners and culture
9:15am Company Panel: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” – how to build a great team in a competitive market
This session looks at how companies have successfully recruited and retained staff in a highly competitive environment, with a focus on company culture and understanding what drives people. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Anita Watkins, Managing Director, Rex Health Ventures
Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, President & CEO, Vigil Neuro
Ankit Mahadevia, Founder and CEO, Spero Therapeutics
Melissa Bradford-Klug, Chief Operating Officer, Akari Therapeutics
Michael Bailey, President & CEO, Aveo Oncology
Shaan Gandhi, Director, Northpond Ventures
10:00am Company Panel: How and when to build internal commercial capabilities?
So, you’ve raised some early capital and have begun to develop your lead product. What kind of commercial input do you need, how do you get it and when do you need to develop your own organization’s commercial capabilities? This session will explore the optimal timing to develop a commercial strategy, its uses in the early stages of development and will outline the potential risks and benefits of building an early internal commercial capability vs. using external partners.
Moderator: Robb Lawrence, SVP, Commercial Strategy Solutions, Premier Consulting
Christopher Leo, Managing Director, Back Bay Life Science Advisors
Sharon Benzeno, Chief Commercial Officer, Adaptive Biotechnologies
Sarah Liu, Chief Commercial Officer, 9 Meters Biopharma
Francois Lilienthal, Chief Commercial Officer, MindMed
10:45am Coffee break and refreshments
Operational excellence, growth & exit strategies
11:15am Expert Insight Panel: Going Public: Planning Today for Post-Transaction Success and Longevity
While 2021 was a record year for biotech companies seeking to enter the public market, the story has completed changed in 2022. How should private companies seeking to go public take note of their immediate predecessors? What can be learned from the past year? This session explores the current market landscape and predictions for the remainder of 2022 – with significant emphasis on the various “going public” avenues biotechs should assess, along with guidance on how best to prepare for success post-transaction.
Moderator: William Hicks, Co-chair Securities & Capital Markets Group, Mintz
Huw Nash, COO and CBO, Stoke Therapeutics
Peter Day, Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, Piper Sandler
Scott Platshon, Partner, EcoR1 Capital
12:00am Fireside chat: Managing risk in the new world – strengthening operations, clinical practice, cyber security and supply chain
Following a historic 24 months, life sciences businesses need to take stock of new business risks emerging as the world recovers from COVID-19. This session explores what sort of business risks biotech executives should prepare for, and how to mitigate them. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Rob Barberi, Senior Vice President, Director - Cyber Security & Professional Risk, WTW
Christopher Mellen, Chief Information Security Officer, Ginkgo Bioworks
12:20pm Pharma Partnering Presentation
Imran Nasrullah, Vice President & Head, Open Innovation Center North America, Bayer
12:40pm Lunch
2:00pm Pharma Partnering Presentation
Albert Hsia, Executive Director, Business Development, Merck
2:20pm Pharma Partnering Presentation
Anjali Kumar, Sr. Director of External Innovation Search and Evaluation, Johnson & Johnson
2:45pm Fireside chat: State of the Union - pricing, patents, antitrust, misinformation and other stories
Life sciences has faced several turbulent years of both setbacks and massive gains, which are set to continue throughout 2022 and beyond. This session sets the stage for the “state of the union” in which pharmaceutical and biotech businesses must operate, looking at threats and opportunities coming out of Washington and how to navigate them, including:
Moderator: John Westwood, Partner & Global Life Sciences Business Leader, Oliver Wyman
Tamar Thompson, Head, Corporate Affairs, Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease
Sheila Frame, President of the Americas, Amryt Pharma
Luba Greenwood, Managing Director, Dana-Faber Ventures Fund; CEO, Kojin
3:30pm Expert Insight Panel: Merging of teams, cultures and assets – when M&A makes sense and how to prepare
In 2021 biopharma M&A dipped to one of its lowest levels on record, with companies tending to prioritise strategic partnerships over acquisitions. This session explores how the M&A landscape is evolving, the circumstances in which M&A is preferable to partnerships and how both parties should prepare for a successful merger and integration of teams and cultures. Discussion includes:
Moderator: Michael Machin, Senior Vice President, M&A Group, WTW
Douglas Fambrough, Former CEO, Dicerna
Carrie Cook, Chief Business Officer, Cerevance
Chuck Triano, Chief Financial Officer, Xalud Therapeutics
Ruta Laukien, Managing Partner, Graybella Capital
4:15pm Close of congress
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