MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Presents Session on the Future of Biotech, Featuring Keynote by Industry Visionary G. Steven Burrill

Panel of Experts to Discuss Challenges and Opportunities in Stem Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine


CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwire - February 19, 2009) - On March 3, the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge will feature a keynote address by G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company. An internationally recognized leader in the biotechnology industry, Burrill will share insights and analysis on the future of biotech and how companies can find opportunity in an ever-changing economic landscape.

Following Burrill's presentation, a panel of experts from both the public and private sectors will discuss innovative research methods for stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine. The group will explore regulatory challenges and policy issues, funding opportunities, perspectives on commercialization, leading research successfully from the lab to the clinic and the future of stem cells in diabetes therapy.

Keynote Speaker:

G. Steven Burrill is CEO of Burrill & Company, a San Francisco-based global leader in the life sciences industry focusing on venture capital, private equity, merchant banking and media. Burrill has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the BayBio Pantheon 2008 DiNA lifetime achievement award for his worldwide biotech leadership and the 2008 Alan Cranston Living Legend Award by the Alliance for Aging Research. An internationally recognized spokesman for the life sciences industry, Burrill has authored a variety of articles and books and is a highly sought-after public speaker. He currently serves as chairman of the board at Pharmasset and BioImagene, and sits on the board of directors at Catalyst Biosciences, DepoMed, Intranasal Therapeutics, Phytomedics, Proteogenix, Proventys, Targacept and XDx.

Panelists:

Dr. Chad Cowan is a researcher with the Harvard University Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and with Massachusetts General Hospital. Cowan received his B.A. and B.S. degrees with honors, from Kansas University in 1995 and 1996. He received his Ph.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas. He subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University.

Dr. Richard A. Insel is executive vice president of research for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Insel has a distinguished medical and research career in pediatric immunology and, prior to joining JDRF in 2003, held various leadership positions at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Insel was the founding director of the Center for Human Genetics and Molecular Pediatric Disease and served on the National Advisory Allergy and Infectious Diseases Council of the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Celia M. Witten is director of the office of cellular, tissue and gene therapy at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). Witten worked for more than 10 years as a practicing physician at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., before joining the FDA as division director of general, restorative and neurological devices in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. Before attending medical school at the University of Miami, she received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Stanford University.

The panel will be moderated by Janice T. Bourque, senior vice president and head of the life sciences group at Comerica Bank. Bourque currently sits on the board of the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

When: Tuesday March 3, 2009
Networking: 5:30 p.m.
Program: 6:15-8:00 p.m.
Reception: 8:00-9:00 p.m.

Where: Stata Center (Bldg. 32), Kirsch Auditorium, 32 Vassar St., Cambridge

Sponsors: Foley Hoag LLP

Registration and information: http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/mar.html

Pricing: Forum members: $20; Non-members: $30; The MIT community and students from all universities, free with college ID.

Contact Information: CONTACT: Regina Smith MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge 617-253-3937 PRESS CONTACT: Brad Baker (for MIT Enterprise Forum) CHEN PR, Inc. 781-672-3118