Overview - Day 1 - Day 2 - Download Brochure
TUESDAY, APRIL 7
8:00am Continental Breakfast Break-out Discussions
Table 1: Life as a CRO Chemist
Co-moderators:
Andrew Henderson, Ph.D. and Bryan Fleming, M.Sci., Business Development Managers and former chemists, Onyx Scientific
• Changing job responsibilities in an increasingly outsourced landscape
• Skills and background required to be a chemist at an outsourcing company v. pharma/biotech company
• Pros and cons of working as a chemist at an outsourcing company
Table 2: Outsourcing Challenges for Start-ups
Moderator: Dinesh V. Patel, Ph.D., President and CEO, Protagonist Therapeutics Inc.
• Managing with little money - negotiating FTE rates, project costs, or R&D expenditure sharing
• Getting the proper attention and resources from an established CRO
• Balancing quality and productivity
Table 3: The Nuts and Bolts of Outsourcing to China
Moderator: Jon Brice, PhD, Director Business Development, Asymchem Laboratories
• Logistics
• Infrastructure, including cultural aspects
• Selecting a contractor
• Intellectual property issues
9:00 Chairperson’s Remarks
Dinesh V. Patel, Ph.D., President and CEO, Protagonist Therapeutics Inc.
9:05 Summary from Break-Out Session
9:35 Maximizing Outsourcing Effectiveness in a Small Biotech Environment
Michael J. Sofia, Ph.D., Vice President of Chemistry, Pharmasset, Inc.
Outsourcing in all aspects of drug discovery and early development has become an integral part of the modern biotech operating model. Because of limited internal resources, everything from the choice of the right outsourcing partner to the approach to project management can have a significant impact on overall program success within a small biotech company. The model used by Pharmasset to leverage multiple outsourcing relationships and how our strategy has evolved to meet our changing needs will be discussed.
10:05 Sponsored Presentation
10:20 Networking Coffee Break In the Exhibit Hall
11:00 Panel Session: View from the Bench Chemists at Biotech and Pharma
Moderator: Michael J. Sofia, Ph.D., Vice President of Chemistry, Pharmasset, Inc.
Panelists: Jonas Eriksson, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Exploratory, Lytix Biopharma; Hui Li, Ph.D., Pfizer; Michael O’Brien, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President Chemistry Development, Wyeth Research; Christelle Renou, Outsourcing Manager, Medicinal Chemistry, Millenium, The Takeda Oncology Co.
Communication issues – is it better to go through a manager or communicate directly with chemists at the outsourced company?
Advice for outsourcing managers on how to make the over the fence/across the pond relationship better
How much information to share?
Relaying new results which require project changes
12:00pm End of Conference
For more information on speaking opportunities :
Anjani Shah, Conference Director
Cambridge Healthtech Institute
Phone: 917-509-9109
E-mail: ashah@healthtech.com
For Sponsor and Exhibit Information:
Suzanne Carol, Business Development Manager
Cambridge Healthtech Institute
Phone: 781-972-5452
E-mail: scarroll@healthtech.com