9am - 10:25am | Opening Remarks and Featured Panel Session:
•Trading Spaces, NASDAQ Style Makeover from Private to Public Company
The biotech IPO window finally cracked open in late 2003, allowing eight companies to mark their debuts in the U.S. market. Several more priced IPO's in early 2004, while dozens are lined up and waiting. The 2003/04 class is a different breed - clinical stage products are expected now, not just desirable.
Going public is a transforming event for private companies. Information that was once closely guarded must be regularly released to the world, including your competitors. Financial reporting is highly scrutinized, R&D progress is closely monitored, and corporate governance issues become paramount. Come hear from bankers and industry executives about what it now takes to go public, and the makeover private companies must achieve to
debut their ticker symbol.
Moderator:
Michael Recny, Ph.D., Vice President of Corporate Development, Trimeris, Inc.
Panelists:
Charles Baltic, Managing Director, Healthcare Investment Banking, Wachovia Securities
Eric Schmidt, Managing Director, SG Cowen
Christy Shaffer, Ph.D., CEO, Inspire Pharmaceuticals
Marshall Smith, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley
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10:45am - 11:40am | Concurrent Panel Sessions
• Prescription Drug Benefits: The Payor's Impact on Small Companies and Their Investors
Talk about drug pricing was quite the rage in 2003 with the passage of the prescription drug law. Though prescription benefits have often been thought of as a big company issue, this panel will discuss how drug pricing issues affect small companies. The panel will consist of a drug pricing expert, an operator of a small public company, and a private equity investor. This group will be moderated to answer the following kinds of questions: Does drug pricing matter for small companies? If so, when should small companies begin to think about drug pricing? How does the prescription drug benefit law of 2003 impact drug pricing? In addition, the panel will include opportunities for questions from the audience.
Moderator:
Clay B. Thorp, General Partner, BioVista Capital, LLC
Panelists:
Maren Anderson, Founder, MDA Consulting
Greg Mossinghoff, President, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Amir Nashat, Principal, Polaris Venture Partners
• University-Led Economic Development Initiatives: Promoting Growth in North Carolina and Throughout the Southeast
From the east to the west, and every region in between, North Carolina institutions of higher education are stepping up to the plate in support of economic development initiatives in many areas of technology, including biotechnology. In 2002, North Carolina’s academic institutions established 16 new start-up companies, joining the ranks of many previously established start-ups. This session will provide an overview of university-led economic development initiatives to foster growth throughout North Carolina and the southeast.
Moderator:
James Milliken, Senior Vice President for University Affairs, University of North Carolina
Panelists:
Bill Dean, President, !dealliance
Mark Lanier, Special Assistant to the Chancellor, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Catherine Renault, Ph. D., Program Manager, RTI, International & Southeast Technology Expo
Bradford B. Walters, MD, PhD, MBA, Partner, Academy Funds
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12 noon - 12:55am | Concurrent Panel Sessions
• Paths for Commercializing New Ideas
The RTP area has more than $1.7 billion in basic research funds per year. Almost two-thirds of these monies are earmarked for biotechnology-based activities. This level of funding should supply the grist for 10-15 new biotech-focused companies per year. We average far less than that. What are the difficulties in moving ideas born in either companies (e.g. Big Pharma), or in academia into the marketplace? What are we doing right, and what could we doing better? This session will address these questions from the perspectives of individuals who are presently commercializing technology that came from Big Pharma and academia.
Moderator:
Garheng Kong, M.D., Ph.D., Partner, Intersouth Partners
Panelists:
John Didsbury, Ph.D., President and CEO, Nuada Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Richard Kouri, Ph.D., President and CEO, Nanolytics, Inc. and Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC-CH
Charles Scarantino, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Medical Director, Sicel Technologies, Inc.
• North Carolina’s Biomanufacturing & Pharmaceutical Training Consortium: Establishing a World-Class Workforce
North Carolina's biotechnology companies have collaborated with educators and government leaders to launch a $64 million education and training partnership for biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical industries. The Biomanufacturing and Pharmaceutical Training Consortium will consist of a state-of-the art biomanufacturing facility providing hands-on experience with commercial-scale equipment, a network of comprehensive community college education and training programs that prepare and serve the workforce through classroom and lab-scale educational activities, and a new university program offering extensive laboratory experience in biomanufacturing-related disciplines. Speakers will discuss the design of this unique vertically integrated initiative, its goals and objectives, curriculum, facilities, funding, industry involvement, and economic impact.
Moderator:
Michael Crossin, Ph.D., International Business Development Manager, North Carolina Department of Commerce
Panelists:
Ken Harewood, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Director, Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University
Peter K. Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Head, Department of Chemical Engineering, NC State University
Susan Seymour, Regional Customized Training
Director for the Research Triangle Economic Development Region, North Carolina Community College System
Samuel Taylor, Executive Vice President, North Carolina Biosciences Organization
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