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Government Relations on a Budget
9:15am – 10:45am

With term limits and budget cuts, getting a legislator to focus on our issues is difficult. Lobbyists and fly-in days get short attention from the legislator, but how can you maintain your place on the radar long-term? Given your own budget and staff limits, how can you use the resources you already have to maximize your exposure in Sacramento and beyond? There are several ways to approach the answer, and a panel of legislative staffers will offer suggestions for getting your voice heard in the Capitol. Join us for a discussion on “Lobbying 101” and learn how to build an effective government relations team.

Panel Moderator:

Andrea Jackson
Associate Director, State Government Affairs, Genentech

Panel Speakers:

Edward Lanphier
Chief Executive Officer, Sangamo Biosciences, Inc.

Anne Ream
Office of Congresswoman Anna Eshoo

Darci Sears
Office of Assembly Member Gene Mullin

Reaching out to the Patient Community
11:00am – 12:30pm

Aligning your company's development plans with the concerns of your patient community creates a powerful synergy that can yield major benefits for everyone concerned. An active collaboration with the patient groups who will ultimately benefit from your work can create a long-lasting, mutually supportive relationship. Everyone benefits: Positive relationships with patient groups can help your company reach its objectives in the areas of clinical trials, business development, marketing and community relations. For patient groups, ongoing contact with biotechnology business leaders can provide access to developments in research and policy that are essential to their constituencies. Increasingly, innovative biotechnology companies acknowledge the wisdom of building these key relationships and devote attention and resources to this area. Fortunately, developing and sustaining strong company-patient relationships need not be prohibitively costly or demanding. On the contrary, a productive dialog can open up new insights for participants on both sides and create lasting, mutually supportive relationships. Learn from experts in the field of patient relations, about innovative ways to make contact with your patient communities while meeting your key business goals.

Panel Moderator:

Barbara Lavery
President, Zoomedia

Panel Speakers:

Bill Franklin
Patient Advocate, Parkinson’s Action Network

Cheya Pope
Senior Manager, Advocacy Relations, Genentech

Patrick Terry
Co-Founder and Director of Consumer Advocacy & Government Affairs, Genomic Health, Inc.

Roni Thaler
Co-founder and President, Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation

Steps to Successfully Recruiting for the Future
1:45pm – 3:15pm

Successful staffing is essential for the continued corporate growth. However, identifying appropriate candidates may become an increasingly difficult task in the future. How to plan ahead and keep up with the explosive growth of the life sciences in Bay Area? In this session, industry insiders will discuss their experience in working with the colleges and intern programs, as well as other steps that companies should take to prevent shortages of qualified candidates. Successful practices in staffing your company – whether it’s a lab, clinical, regulatory, commercial or a manufacturing facility.

Panel Moderator:

Mary Ann Rafferty
Biotechnology Consultant

Panel Speakers:

James Huang
Senior Vice President, Business Development & Commercial Operations, Corgentech, Inc.

Jennifer Lemas
Director of Organizational Development, Gilead Sciences

Nancy Symonds
President, NJS Recruiting Services

Mark Wood
Director of Human Resources, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc.

Employee Engagement: The Path to Increased Productivity and Corporate Success
3:30pm – 5:00pm

Engaging employees, whether it’s a commitment to someone or something in the organization, has been linked to two critical business outcomes: employees’ level of discretionary effort and their intent to leave (or stay with) an organization. According a recent Corporate Leadership Council report, enhanced engagement can result in up to 57% increase in discretionary effort and up to 87% reduction in desire to leave an organization. A panel of speakers will present on how they have engage employees in reaching their corporate strategy and objectives, responding to the questions. The following issues will be discussed: What kinds of practices or company culture engages employees (or not)? What practices have the speakers considered or implemented? What level of financial support has been required by these initiatives ? Where some specific challenges associated with enhancing employee engagement? In what ways have these practices favorably impacted individual performance and corporate performance?

Panel Moderator:

Dorian Rinella
Vice President of Human Resources, Corgentech, Inc.

Panel Speakers:

Leslie M. McEvoy, Ph.D.
Vice President, Research, Corgentech, Inc.

Michael D. Miller, Ph.D.
Senior Director of Clinical Virology, Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Mary L. Schramke, Ph.D., MBA
Vice President & General Manager, Genomic Services, Solexa, Inc.