Moderator Hubert Birner - Managing Partner, TVM Life Science Management Inc.
Children and adolescents show quite significant physiological differences that are relevant for drug development in that target patient group. These include for instance different pharmacokinetics, bioavailability of drug substance and renal clearance, risk of overdosing, increased sensibility of the growing organism.
The available database of approved drugs in adults is therefore quite insufficient and many drugs that are used in children today are not formally approved in children by the regulatory bodies.
We believe that pediatrics provides an exciting area for biotechnology companies in the future.
Our panel will explore the challenges and opportunities for drug development, clinical studies and new formulations for children including a review of the regulatory context both in the US and Europe.
Innovator companies, founded around novel technology platforms or new therapeutic assets, have an increasingly diverse option set available to them as they look to advance their programs through clinical development to regulatory approval and, ultimately, to commercial launch. The financial options to fuel this progress range throughout the journey—from early angel and venture funding to established pharma and biotech partnerships to equity offerings to non-dilutive funding mechanisms to outlicensing. All come with a different set of implications, from capability access through to balance sheet health, that affect the probability of a successful journey as well as the value that the company can create through that journey. Join us for an executive conversation where we hear from innovators, preferred partners, and others involved in the funding process about how these decisions are approached and when companies may best look to collaborate.
Identifying the right partner for your asset(s) and company is essential for partnering success, but what are the key factors you should look for when deciding who to approach and commit to? This session will help you define what criteria you should be using, how to develop a base of potential partners and finally how to screen for the best possible match. You will benefit from the workshop leader's 25+ years' experience in the business development space and will have the chance to share your own thoughts.
What can you learn during the negotiation process?
10:00 –18:30 Please note: One-to-one meetings will take place all day depending on your partnering schedule.
This year's opening plenary will discuss Europe's key position in the global innovation ecosystem and explore strategies to ensure that European research will be successful in an international marketplace. As growth often depends on collaborations across borders, the panel will examine success stories from Europe, and highlight strategies to help invigorate entrepreneurs by nurturing partnerships, share best practices from external resources, and intelligently secure funding in order to expand research within Europe and beyond.
Partnering trends in the pharma world: How does big pharma expand pipeline opportunities?
Panelist Noor Shaker - CEO, GTN Ltd.
While machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) have had a deep impact in solving complex global problems over the past several years, there has been a slow adoption and implementation of these technologies for use in drug discovery R&D. AI-based technologies and platforms in the life sciences are still in their infancy, but this will be the way of the future for generating drugs and diagnostics. In this panel discussion, we bring together thought-leaders in machine learning and artificial intelligence to delve into the opportunities, capabilities, future trends and challenges of using AI to speed up drug discovery, decrease failure rates in drug trials and create more affordable and better treatments for patients.
Panelist Dan Zhang - CEO, Fountain Medical Development Ltd.
The number of M&A transactions involving Chinese investors and targets in Europe continuously increases. Chinese foreign direct investments in Europe hit a record EUR 65 billion in 2017, compared with less than EUR 2 billion in 2010. Evidently, Europe has become progressively more attractive for Chinese investors.
While it is not uncommon for transnational transactions between European targets and Chinese investors to fail due to cultural and communicative differences, significant progress has been made to help ensure greater successful transactions. Beyond the intrinsic challenges with R&D, legal hurdles have to be overcome and other critical factors must be taken into account in order to have successful cross-border collaborations. This panel will discuss the experiences and necessary considerations of intercultural dealings with investors as well as provide practical solutions.
Panelist Michelle Chen - Senior Director Corporate and Business Development, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.
Rare diseases are increasingly prevalent and a key part of many companies' strategies, suggesting that rare diseases, and the orphan drugs that treat them, can be a lucrative investment. It's not surprising with the proliferation of orphan drug programs, and their associated regulatory and commercial incentives, but are there other factors and are they more successful overall?
Panelist Antoun Nabhan - VP, Corporate Development, Pear Therapeutics, Inc.
New "smart" treatments have the potential to alter the landscape of our industry. How are these products different from traditional biopharma products? What are the development, regulatory and reimbursement pathways? What are the challenges to adoption of these new tools and how can we maximize the opportunities to provide alternatives to traditional medications? Companies paving the path in this exciting new sector will discuss this next wave of innovation in the life sciences.
Panelist James Cornwall - Chief Business Officer, Nuvelution Pharma, Inc.
In recent years, pharma company R&D budgets have been under pressure. Pharma companies are struggling to find ways to continue to advance the development of attractive drug candidates from their own pipelines while simultaneously looking outside for attractive programs they can acquire. One way pharma companies can do more within a constrained R&D budget is to partner with outside investors in innovative ways in order to develop attractive drug candidates with "other people's money." This panel of industry experts will explore some of the ways that pharma companies and VC firms are partnering to develop drugs and generate investment returns.
Immuno-oncology has transformed the oncology sector via offering new and highly effective treatments for an increasing number of cancers, rapidly evolving science and an unprecedented number of assets in preclinical and clinical development. The promise of cancer immunotherapy has fueled an intense global race not only for being first-in-class or best-in-class with one treatment modality but also for identifying potential first-in-class combinations and rapidly advancing them in partnerships and combination deals.
The panel gathers experienced experts from the public, biotech and pharma sector to discuss the associated business development challenges and opportunities as well as adoptive strategies needed to succeed in a quickly evolving and increasingly crowded field.
How are geopolitics affecting biopharma's future prospects?
Two years ago, BIO-Europe delegates woke up on the third day of the meeting with the news that Donald Trump had beaten Hillary Clinton in the race to the White House. That result came in just four and a half months after the British people had voted narrowly to leave the European Union. Both results were a shock to both the political establishment and pharma executives that abhor any kind of uncertainty. Two years on, how has pharma adapted to the new geopolitical landscape? What challenges lie ahead and what should pharma do to manage any risks involved?
This panel will cover the current climate of CNS R&D, specifically lessons learned from past failures and new research to advance the treatment of neurological disorders. CNS disorders are expected to make up 14.7 percent of the global disease burden by 2020, representing the largest burden of any disease group, according to the US National Institute of Mental Health. Despite decades of research and billions in investments, this sector has posed significant challenges and setbacks. However, ambitious novel research and new breakthroughs are changing the landscape. Experts in this field will highlight what is being done differently now and discuss the future of CNS in biopharma.
There are two locations for the reception.
The landmark architecture of The Opera House offers the perfect setting, with its transparent grand foyer, panoramic views, sculpted maple wood interiors and artist Olafur Eliasson's magnificent light sculptures. It is a donation from the A.P. Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation to the Danish people. The Opera House is clad with southern German Jura Gelb limestone, and the foyer features Sicilian Perlatino marble. The wall of the auditorium facing the foyer is clad with maple wood, and the ceiling in the main auditorium is adorned with 105,000 sheets of 24 carat gold leaf, equivalent to 1.5 kilos of gold.