Putting Life into Words: Making Communications Work for the Life Science Sector
9:45am – 11:00am

Life Sciences companies face intense competition, very complex issues and long lag times to commercialize their products or technologies. Effective communications strategies can support IPOs, product launches, corporate/product reputation management, partnership agreements and additional financing. They can also insulate your business against competitive threats and the taint of industry challenges, litigation, investigations and crises. In strongly positioning your organization with the financial community, media, pharmaceutical partners, patients, employees and other key constituents, effective communications drive mindshare and inspire action. Learn how to design and implement strategic communications programs to protect your interests and achieve business objectives.

Panel Moderator:

Rod Clayton
Executive Vice President and General Manager, Weber Shandwick Worldwide

Panel Speakers:

Charles Butler
Director, Corporate Communications, Exelixis

Neil Cohen
Director, Product Communications and Patient Advocacy, Genentech

Moira Gunn
Host, BioTech Nation

Jeffrey L. Taylor
Chairman, Federal Relations Group, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Impatient for Patients: Utilizing Communications to Expedite Clinical Trial Enrollment
11:15am – 12:30pm

About 81 percent of all clinical trials are delayed at least one to six months due to difficulties in patient enrollment, with another 5 percent postponed six months or more, according to CenterWatch. For drug companies, the cost of these delays is enormous. Recruiting volunteers to participate remains one of the costliest aspects of the drug development process. Reducing the length of a clinical trial by just one month by improving patient recruitment could not only save lives, but also generate additional revenue to reinvest in the research and discovery of new therapies. Many recruitment problems stem largely from a lack of awareness about clinical research studies and the critical need for clinical trials in order to develop successful drugs. Learn how a targeted communications strategies can impact clinical trial awareness and help meet enrollment goals.

Panel Moderator:

Barbara Lavery
President and Chief Execitive Officer, Zoomedia

Panel Speakers:

Michael Arlotto
Senior Vice President, Emerging Biotech, NovaQuest
(the partnering arm of Quintiles Transnational Corp.)

Emily Faucette
Associate, WeissComm Partners

Michael J. Fisch, MD, MPH
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Medical Director, Community Clinical Oncology Program Associate Professor, General Oncology and Palliative Care

Kristen M. Hege, M.D.
Vice President, Clinical Research, Cell Genesys, Inc.

Janice M. Kehl, R.N., BSN
Global Project Manager, Chiltern International, Inc.

Extreme Makeovers: Repositioning and Repackaging the Biotech Company for Success
2:00pm – 3:15pm

A growing number of biotech have faced the surgeon's scalpel - repackaging and reinventing themselves to position for success. Often it is the investors who spur the change in a portfolio company's focus to expose the company to synergistic opportunities to acquire intellectual property or enter strategic collaborations. This panel will explore case studies of the three successful initiatives to reposition Bay Area life science companies in the marketplace and how they successfully communicated with employees to avoid a schizophrenic corporate culture.

Panel Speakers:

Patricia Donahue
Senior Director, Business Development, XOMA

Pharmaceutical Co-Promotion and Co-Marketing Agreements in the US and Europe from a Biotech Perspective
3:30pm – 4:45pm

As the life sciences community continues to expand on a global scale, more and more biotechnology companies are exploring pharmaceutical co-promotion and co-marketing agreements in both the US and abroad. This panel will discuss, from the biotech perspective, issues that arise in the course of these discussions, including: why co-promote or co-market; recent trends; legal, regulatory, and antitrust perspectives; co-promotion agreements in the US; co-promotion in the European community; key issues for negotiating co-promotion and co-marketing agreements.

Panel Moderator:

Dr. Charles Hoyng
Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP

Panel Speakers:

Niv Caviar
Vice President, Business Development, Allergan

Joseph McCracken
Vice President, Business Development, Genentech

John Wehrli
Senior Associate, Latham & Watkins LLP