Posted on June 20, 2008 by arubenstein
As BIO2008 begins to wind down I finally have a few moments to catch my breath and rummage through the trendy conference bag and contents (BTW…next year would be very cool to have a wheeled conference bag with telescoping handle). I was flipping through the complimentary April/May ’08 copy of The Journal of Life Sciences (FYI…you can sign-up for a free subscription (HERE)). Just when a guy thinks he has rung out as much Colorado news and information from BIO2008, BANG! There is an article on Broomfield, CO-based Accera.
Accera is a privately held biotechnology company focused on developing novel drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. The company’s lead candidate, Ketasyn™ (AC-1202), is a first-in-class molecule that has completed successful clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease and age-associated memory impairment. Accera plans to self-commercialize Ketasyn as a prescription-only therapeutic product for the treatment of Alzheimer’s in the US in 4Q08. A key element of Accera’s strategy is work with corporate partners to commercialize Ketasyn in non-U.S. markets, and to develop AC-1202 and other proprietary small molecule compounds in its pipeline for a range of neurodegenerative diseases. Learn more about the company (HERE).
Note: Take a closer look at what is transpiring in Colorado Bioscience at
Filed under: BIO, Convention, bio08 | Tagged: checking out the conference bag | No Comments »
Posted on June 20, 2008 by arubenstein
If you are resident at MIT, Hopkins, UPenn, Northwestern or the University of Chicago you are likely intimately aware of the name Forest City Enterprises, Booth 5508. That is because the Forest City Science + Technology Group, recognized as one of the country’s leading developers & owners of life science campuses, has completed your shiny new and smartly appointed bioparks.
Forest City, the $4 billion publicly traded (NYSE: FCE-A) Cleveland-based company has set its sights on Colorado, building out the 170+ acre Colorado Science + Technology Park @ Fitzsimons. This new park will add an additional 6 million sq ft to the existing 6 million sq ft housed within the adjacent Fitzsimons Life Science District and Anschutz Medical Campus. It is an incredibly exciting project, one of staggering magnitude and is certain to mark the campus as one of the largest and fastest growing concentrations of life science focused activity in the world!
Some great progress has already been made on the Colorado Science + Technology Park, a few highlights include:
- Current 100,000 sf, in two buildings is 100% occupied
- Demolition of all old buildings has begun and initiating site prep
- Erecting first spec lab building (T) for 66,000 sf
- Leasing activity in building T and second new lab build is strong
- University Physicians, Inc deal is complete, 160,000 sf structure
- A full-service hotel deal is moving forward
- 21 Fitz Town Center, retail and high-end housing opens in two-weeks
- Fitzsimons Credit Union land sale is done, 25,000 sf structure
Filed under: BIO, Convention, bio08 | Tagged: biotechnology, Colorado | 1 Comment »
Posted on June 20, 2008 by nicoleatbio
“We use the language of life to fix its mistakes. We use the language of life to enable us to live on this planet sustainably. Decoding the secrets of life scares some people, but it inspires us. Some people ask how can you play God with the language of life? We say we’re not trying to be God…we are only trying to be fully human. Though we cannot see all that the future holds, our vision is clear. We can see that the knowledge you have pioneered– and the passion you put behind it, will allow us to never again have to speak the words, “There’s nothing we can do,”
said Jim Greenwood President and CEO of BIO today in his Keynote address. If you missed it, we’ve included a clip.
You can also view the video here.
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Posted on June 20, 2008 by mikesgene
I’m sitting here in the Biotech and the Blogosphere breakout session at BIO 1008 in San Diego. It is the most sparsely attended session I’ve been to so far with only about 50 people in the room. 50 people who have admittedly made a point of being here to learn something, but given the overwhelming influence of blogs today I did hope there would be more.
But honestly I didn’t expect many more. My experience with science and open forums, blogs etc. on the web is that the chemistry still isn’t working. There APPEARS to be (no science to this opinion folks ) 2 reasons:
- They still subscribe to a school of thought that the message can be controlled
- They want to ‘fly under the radar’ and don’t want controversy.
Well consider this as a wake-up call:
- You never really could control the message completely and
- You fly under the radar when you either have done or are about to do something wrong.
Meanwhile by not participating in the discussion it carries on without you. For instance if you feel that by talking about GMO you’ll be inviting criticism, you may in fact be right at times. When the critics come at you however, at least you should already have established a line of communication to talk with them. If you don’t engage guess what - the critics will simply chatter among themselves about you. They will choose to do it as long and as loud and as hard as they darn well please and they are under no obligation to be fair or even accurate.
The first speaker in the session was Bo Piela from Genzyme. He looks on their social media efforts and their blog as the company ”bringing people around the metaphorical table to talk”. It was a good way to put it because in good times and in bad, a lot can happen when people sit down to talk. Even though he didn’t use the same term, Michael Partridge from Vertexreally was saying the same thing when he described their CEO blog for employees. Employees everywhere want to know more about their company, want to know what direction their industry may be going, and maybe ask a few pointed questions. A CEO blog like the one Michael Parridge described therefore becomes a great internal communications tool. It is written entirely by the CEO and isn’t vetted by HR or the lawyers. A scarey thought perhaps, but HR research usually points to open communications as a factor in a winning company and an internal CEO blog is really just a tool to that end. It is that chance to sit around the table. There are always things to be wary of and Marc Monseau of Johnson and Johnson had a couple of thoughts that my experience would say should be at the top of the list if your company is considering a blog.
- Be prepared for a lack of control.
- Be prepared for criticism.
Once you’ve thought it through, laid the ground rules, and braced yourself for a big corporate change I agree with the final thoughts from all the panelists. Just do it.
Filed under: BIO, Online Communities, bio08 | Tagged: Add new tag, BIO, bio08, blogging, Online Communities | 6 Comments »
Posted on June 20, 2008 by christineross
This morning’s breakout session on Understanding and Influencing Politics: New Tools for Political Communication provided a snapshot of what’s happening and the issues across a number of jurisdictions. The 8.30am start didn’t deter a healthy turnout, all keen to hear the inside story from an expert panel.
Peter Vermij started with an overview of the European situation, and an explanation of how dealing with 27 different countries shapes their political landscape. Peter described a culture of more talk than action, with less trust in markets, and a tradition of dialogue with multi-stakeholder involvement. The circular flow of communication between Government, industry and society in this setting is often not productive. Here’s the important bit: To communicate your point of view, it’s better to get in early and be involved before an issue becomes the subject of hype (and in some notable cases, hysteria. GM food anyone?).
He believes influencing policy needs strategy, involvement in multi-stakeholder engagement, and open debate where people can explore the potential for compromise. People can be much more willing to work with those they’ve met on a personal level, regardless of their respective political agendas.
Jeff Joseph, VP of Communications for BIO, discussed the organisation’s roadmap & 360 degree approach to public affairs. BIO works to influence legislators through the use of face to face meetings with lobbyists, and surrounding politicians with information from and about the industry in as many media channels as possible, old and new. Having said that, there’s great awareness that it’s no longer about talking to or at people, but rather engaging them as participants in a dialogue.
Saliently, BIO is going to move from using words like ‘genetic’ ‘cellular’ and ‘molecular’ to conveying the excitement and promise biotech holds for real people, appealing to hearts and minds. This will be acheived through a mix of old & new media, patient advocates sharing their stories and even via google ads. Jeff concluded with a list of take home lessons: leverage your benefits, keep your friends close, utilise web 2.0, and remember - newspapers are not dead yet.
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Posted on June 19, 2008 by nicoleatbio
Today’s keynote addresses were uplifting, inspiring – and humorous. BIO President & CEO Jim Greenwood was the first to take the stage, noting the common purpose that drew people from around the globe to this conference: “We believe that biotechnology will transform the world.” Greenwood’s passion for the industry is clear and genuine, and I am proud he is leading our association as we work to heal, fuel and feed the planet. Gen. Colin Powell did not disappoint either, but was there any doubt? What I didn’t expect from a general and a former secretary of state was his sense of humor. The man truly is funny! Got to love a man who references TIME magazine’s poll on aging gracefully – noting that he came in #2 behind Paul Newman but ahead of Robert Redford and exclaims, “Yes!” with a big, sheepish grin on his face.
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Posted on June 19, 2008 by sourav123
A number of breakout sessions today focused on biomarkers and personalized medicine. A very compelling session was on Biomarkers and Diagnostics in Alzheimer’s. It my impression that one of the major hurdles in the adoption of biomarker technology is the conception that its simply “diagnostics.” The current system is designed to reimburse based on the type of test (such as $XX for PCR tests), this is where the system fails currently because it totally neglects the varied R&D costs of developing personalized biomarkers which are much more than other more direct tests.
On a positive note a company called Neuroptix presented a very exciting non-invasive test for Alzheimer’s disease. At present beyond doctor’s neurological reports there are no comprehensive tests for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s as well as no way for early detection of this debilitating disease. The test is designed to detect the aggregation of A-Beta (the protein that aggregates and causes damaging filaments in the brain) in the lens of the eye based on confocal lasers. The preliminary data of this test looks promising and they report that in mice they can even detect the onset of disease before you would be able to diagnose disease through post mortem brain dissection. One can hope that this technology can catch the disease early enough to make a difference in treatment options later on.
Filed under: BIO, Healthcare, bio08 | Tagged: Alzheimer's, biomarkers | No Comments »
Posted on June 19, 2008 by Jennifer Miller
The Bio International Convention hosted a fantastic panel today on the 2008 Ernst & Young global biotechnology report. The industry is at “the start of a revolution” and aiming to reinvent itself because of three trends, shared moderator Glen Giovannetti of Ernst & Young, (1) R&D productivity, (2) personalized medicine, and (3) globalization. This post will briefly introduce the first two trends leaving the large topic of globalization for a subsequent standalone post.
The first motivator for industry innovation is R&D productivity. Due to patent expiration problems, Giovannetti outlined, pharma’s drug sales will be reduced by $67 billion between now and 2012 leaving pharma searching for ways to increase profits. Consequently, Pharma is buying promising revenue-generating assets from smaller biotech companies and cutting costs by laying off employees. Unsurprisingly, pharma wants and needs to reinvent itself and increase innovation.
The second trend driving industry reinvention and innovation, personalized medicine, is of particular interest as I am a supporter of person-centered bioethics. Personalized medicine promises the potential for getting the right drug to the right patient at the right time using for example the patient’s own molecular information. Additionally, it changes medicine’s focus “from efficacy to efficiency,” according to co-moderator Mara Aspinall, former president of Genzyme Genetics, potentially improves its safety and eases pricing pressures. As personalized medicine grows, the panelists predicted that consumers will focus less on a medicine’s catchy tagline and/or color and more on its results and cost, effectively widening the market’s playing field. Interestingly, it seems big pharma’s marketing and PR practices and competitive edge will be affected. Aspinall mentioned that currently only 50% of drugs are effective and that personalized medicine could potentially boost this number. Not only would marketing practices be affected, but the diagnostics and IT fields would be impacted as well. Personalized medicine needs diagnostic testing and IT infrastructure, and according to Aspinall it has not been decided who will pay for the needed growth in these areas. Personalized medicine is still in its infancy, but promises to bring innovative options to healthcare.
Sponsored by: 
Filed under: Convention, bio08 | Tagged: biotechnology, bioethics, ernst & young global biotechnology report 2008, diagnostic medicine, personalized medicine | 1 Comment »
Posted on June 19, 2008 by nicoleatbio
We celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Orphan Drug Act yesterday with a breakout session in the morning and a press conference in the afternoon. Speakers included the legislators who championed the bill 25 years ago and companies who are now, thanks to the Act, able to make treatments that change people’s lives.
The Orphan Drug Act celebrated its 25th birthday on January 4, 2008. The Act provides developers with the exclusive right to market an orphan drug for that indication for seven years from the date of FDA approval. The term orphan drug refers to a drug or biologic that treats a rare disease or condition.
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) since the signing of the Orphan Drug Act more than 300 new drugs have been approved for treatment of orphan diseases, that’s an average of 11 new drugs a year. In the 10 years preceding the approval of the Orphan Drug Act only 10 new therapies had been developed.
The significance of the Orphan Drug Act came to life at the press conference. Dr. Tim Cote from FDA said that “Statistics are people with the tears wiped away.” His point was well-made by three brave patients with orphan diseases who stood up to tell heart-warming stories of how the Orphan Drug Act changed their lives. Including, 17-year-old John Adams, Jr. (who has a rare condition called PKU) after a handshake and a photo op with Gov. Schwarzenneger, took questions from reporters.
Filed under: BIO, Convention, Healthcare, bio08 | Tagged: orphan drug act, rare diseases | No Comments »
Posted on June 19, 2008 by mikesgene
I went out on a limb this morning at the BIO Breakout sessions. Most of my career has been as a journalist and producer, I’ve been the Communications Director for Genome Alberta less than a year, and no one will ever confuse me with a scientist or researcher. Undaunted though, I went to a breakout session on ‘Advances in Biomarkers and Diagnostics for Alzheimer’s Disease and Psychiatric Disorders’. Even the title gives me a scare.
As it turned out my exposure to the science to date gave me just enough knowledge to keep me focused and more importantly the speakers started off at a level I could keep up with. 5 of the top 15 causes of mortality in the U.S. are related to neuropsychiatric diseases and every 72 seconds, someone in America develops AD. A PR person, a journalist, or the public can get that significance in a heartbeat. Despite those somewhat scarey stats, we are still at a stage where the disease can be very active before the clinical symptoms are there and you can develop any treatment plans. I knew it isn’t a quick yes/no diagnosis, but the news to me was that it can take up to 2 years for a proper diagnosis.
Then the first couple of presenters really shone for me with clever but informative language around using changes in the eye to ’shed light on Alzheimers’ and that there is a ‘molecular window to the brain’ through the eyes. Language that is a journalist’s ‘aha moment’ when you realise they can use an eye drop and a flourescent light to look for AD before any cognitive symptoms present themselves. Or that a certain type of cataract is only present in patients with AD.
Yes it is a few years before it will go through all trials and approvals to be on the market, but just knowing they are in the development stage is encouraging and worthy of media attention.
I learned a long time ago that it can be difficult to communicate some of the advances in science, technolgy or medicine and in my current role I’ve become acutely aware of the challenges around our work. However it is all about telling a good story to get people’s attention and to get the concept across.
There are sessions at BIO I may never be able to understand but I’ve also found sessions that have a story to tell ( okay maybe buried a bit sometimes! ) and if the organizers can keep the balance , and get the right people at the front and the back of the room, we’ll all be much more successful in taking it to the average person.
Later today though I’ll get back into my comfort zone by going to the Biotech and Blogosphere session that is just a wee bit closer to home.
Enjoy the rest of the week here.
Filed under: BIO, Convention, bio08 | Tagged: biomarkers, communications, genetics | No Comments »
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