Bio Innovation Conference | Agenda
Presented by Maryland Life Sciences, a division of the Maryland Tech Council, the Bio Innovation Conference is driving the future of life sciences in Maryland. This conference provides a forum for professionals from industry, academia and government to discuss trends and insight into Maryland’s burgeoning life sciences industry and topics related to funding, structuring, commercialization and government relations.
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Agenda

Maryland Life Sciences is proud to present exclusive videos of each speaker and panel discussion from the conference on the MTC’s YouTube channel.

Day 1  |  October 3, 2022

7:00 am – 8:30 am Registration Open – Breakfast and Networking
8:30 am – 9:00 am Welcome and Opening Remarks

Marty Rosendale, Chief Executive Officer, Maryland Life Sciences
Mike Gill, Secretary, Maryland Department of Commerce
Brad Stewart, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation
Steven Walker, Senior Director, Global Marketing – Early Portfolio Strategy, GlaxoSmithKline

9:00 am – 4:00 pm BIO One-on-One Partnering
9:00 am – 9:45 am

Sponsored by

Opening Keynote  |  Innovating at NIH and Establishing ARPA-H

NIH has several new and evolving research initiatives. Several will be highlighted, including the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a new biomedical and health research agency aimed at catalyzing breakthroughs to improve the health of all Americans; the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative aimed at advancing innovative ideas for new COVID-19 testing approaches and strategies; and the Cancer Moonshot 2.0, which has ambitious goals to end cancer as we know it today. 

Abhishek Dhawan, Executive and Life Science Core Market Leader, DPR Construction
Tara Schwetz, Ph.D., Acting Principal Deputy Director, NIH

10:00 am – 10:45 am Expanding the Boundaries of Cell and Gene Therapy

Since 2016 there has been a renaissance in the cell and gene therapy field, building an impressive pipeline of 24 approved therapies by the FDA. Requiring decades of innovation efforts, the list of licensed products includes autologous T cell immunotherapies, AAV vector-based gene therapies, and allogeneic cell therapies. These therapies treat diverse clinical indications and tissue targets, including cancer, neuromuscular disease, neurodegenerative disease, and retinal dystrophy. This informative session features executive-level speakers from three Maryland-based biotechnology companies whose core mission is to expand boundaries to create a new generation of therapies that will enhance patient outcomes through cell engineering, RNA engineering and AAV gene therapy.

Moderator
Lesley Eschinger, Director of Market Development, MaxCyte

Panelists
Craig Malzahn, Senior Vice President, Technical Operations, REGENXBIO 
Dr. Milos Miljkovic, Chief Medical Officer, Cartesian Therapeutics
Cenk Sumen
, Chief Scientific Officer, MaxCyte

11:00  am – 11:45  am Factors Impacting Patient Access to Cell and Gene Therapies

The patient-doctor relationship lies at the heart of effective patient care.  challenges they go through in terms of access, getting into clinical trials, rare diseases/new diseases, how to get patients access to life saving therapies/what barriers they overcome.

Moderator
Dr. Cartier Esham, Chief Scientific Officer, Biotechnology Innovation Organization

Panelists
Nina Hunter, Vice President, Corporate Strategy,  REGENXBIO
Colin Werth
, Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy
Mark Trusheim, Strategic Director, NEWDIGS, Sloan School of Management MIT (invited)

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Networking Lunch
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm Keys to Expand a Diverse Talent in Workforce Development

Maryland is home to more than 54,000 life sciences jobs and led the nation in science and tech workforce growth in 2021. As Maryland’s life sciences ecosystem continues to thrive, how can life sciences employers recruit, train, and empower a diverse workforce and welcome individuals from all backgrounds? With a growing body of evidence showing that diverse organizations outperform their counterparts, how can companies broaden the diversity of candidates applying for positions? This insightful panel features three unique voices – an industry leader, an educator, and a student – with their own perspectives on the barriers and opportunities facing the life sciences industry.

Moderator
Chris Frew, Chief Executive Officer, Workforce
Genetics and Founder, BioBuzz Media

Panelists
TyNeisha Banks, MSA Principal, Perspectives
Holly Copeland, Senior Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability & Impact, Horizon Therapeutics
Adrianna Emery, Perspectives Math & Science Academy Alumni; Horizon Scholar, Howard University

2:30 pm – 3:15 pm The Shift to Endemic: Living Alongside COVID-19

As scientists work to keep up with emerging variants and the world seeks to successfully transition from pandemic to endemic for COVID-19, both science and policy must partner to make deliberate choices. This panel will convene cross-functional experts to explore the practical and societal considerations that global public health authorities, scientists, regulatory bodies and manufacturers must weigh to successfully manage the ongoing threat such as: on which variants should efforts be focused and how will this evolve; will revaccination needs mimic other seasonal infectious respiratory diseases and if so, what is the potential role of combination vaccines; how will regulators approach review and approvals; what role will governments continue to play?

Moderator
Yvonne Sprow, Vice President, External Communications, Novavax

Panelists
Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director, American Public Health Association
Professor Adrian HillDirector, The Jenner Institute; Lakshmi Mittal & Family Professor of Vaccinology, University of Oxford
John Moore, Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Dr. Ian Simon, Senior Advisor to Director for Pandemic Preparedness, NIAID
John Trizzino, Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Business Officer, Novavax

3:30 pm – 4:15 pm Emerging Vaccine Opportunities in Modulating the Immune System

Cancer and other vexing medical conditions persist by evading detection by the body’s immune system. An emerging field of vaccine research and development known as immune system modulation aims to change this dynamic by stimulating or suppressing the immune system to help the body fight cancer, infection, or other diseases. This research has opened new opportunities to explore both the adaptive response and the innate response of the immune system to develop more effective vaccines. This panel combines leaders in the public research and commercial sectors to explore the challenges and opportunities in the emerging field of immune system modulation.

Moderator
Sally Mossman, Vice President, Head of Research Portfolio and Strategy, Sanofi Pasteur

Panelists
Tim Clay
, Vice President, Head of Discovery Performance Unit Vaccines US, GSK
Chris Jewell
, Minta Martin Professor of Engineering (Endowed), University of Maryland
Geoffrey Lynn, Ph.D.
, Senior Vice President, Vaccitech
David Pepperl
, Senior Consultant and Nonclinical Group Lead, Biologics Consulting

4:30 pm – 4:45 pm Closing Keynote

William Rees, Vice President, Translational Sciences, Horizon 

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Cocktail Reception

Day 2  |  October 4, 2022

7:00 am – 7:55 am Registration Open – Breakfast and Networking
7:55 am – 8:00 am Welcome

Marty Rosendale, Chief Executive Officer, Maryland Life Sciences

8:00 am – 8:45 am Advanced Biomanufacturing: The Patient Focus

This session will bring to life the patient focus of the cell therapy manufacturing process. Featuring an engaging discussion with Kite cell therapy manufacturing experts, we will highlight how cell therapy manufacturing produces and delivers individualized treatments in a rapid and reliable way for patients with difficult-to-treat blood cancers.

Moderator
Naren Kadaba, Vice President, Manufacturing Operations, Kite, a Gilead Company

Panelists
Dave Anderson, Site Quality Head, Kite, a Gilead Company
Brian Kenty, Director, Process Development, Kite, a Gilead Company
Trushar Agrawal, Senior Director, Head of Manufacturing, Kite, a Gilead Company

9:00 am – 4:00 pm BIO One-on-One Partnering
9:00 am – 9:45 am Automation in Biomanufacturing

The biomanufacturing industry has accumulated over 20 years of experience with monoclonal antibody manufacturing and over 10 years of experience with cell and gene therapies.  Automation that harnesses machine learning on the large data sets available can bring breakthroughs to the industry for both cost cutting and accelerated timeline purposes.  However automation in biomanufacturing is still not widely adopted.  In this session we aim to outline the necessary steps that the industry needs to take to make automation a useful and reliable tool.  Streamlining historical training data sets, automated design of experience (DOE) during process development, in-line analytics based manufacturing, self-controlled upstream bioreactor and downstream purification, and digital modeling of supply chain planning for mAb, cell and gene therapy fields will be discussed.

Moderator
Jeffrey Hung, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Naogene

Panelists
Kevin GordonChief Digital Officer, OriBiotech
Eric Wu-NagySenior Automation Engineer, Takeda
Bruce Yu, Professor, University of Maryland, Professor and Director, The Bio- and Nano-Technology Center

9:00 am – 10:30 am Business of Bio Workshop A  | Maximizing Government Non-Dilutive Funding Programs

Learn about non-dilutive funding sources available from the U.S. Government (USG) for researchers and entrepreneurs.  The USG offers billions in non-dilutive funding and resources to help small businesses advance and commercialize promising translational biotech and life sciences research technologies.

Lili Portilla, Director, Office of Strategic Alliances,National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
Becky Aistrup, M.B.A.,Managing Partner, BBC Entrepreneurial Training and Consulting

10:00  am – 10:45  am Workforce Readiness

Maryland’s high concentration of STEM workers, along with some of the most highly-educated professionals in the nation, make it one of the top states in the nation for life sciences employers. The state’s colleges and universities will play a pivotal role in generating the workforce our biotechnology biomanufacturing employers need. This panel, which features both industry leaders and academic leaders, will explore how employers and higher education institutions can partner to leverage talent early and make the case that a rewarding career in life sciences awaits. Panelists will also discuss how employers can work with academia to create training programs and curriculum that align with the biotech and biomanufacturing jobs of tomorrow.

Moderator
Brad Stewart, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation

Panelists
John Balchunas, Workforce Director, NIIMBL

Jacob Hsu, Chief Executive Officer, Catalyte
Deborah Ricker, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Hood College

10:30 am – 12:00 pm Business of Bio Workshop B  |  Improving Biotech Company Value Through Strategic IP Management

This workshop will provide an overview of intellectual property assets and their value to the early-stage biotech company. An emphasis on strategic management will help the senior manager optimize their company’s value to potential investors, direct and manage efficient product development, and suggest growth potential through licensing. Participants will be encouraged to share their experiences

Peter Reczek, Founder, Centrala IPM, LLC
Scott Lloyd, Principal, Offit Kurman

11:00 am – 11:45 am Inclusion, Retention, and Advancement

An increasing body of research shows that the most diverse companies exceed their less diverse counterparts in profitability and performance. Surveys also show that many historically disadvantaged groups are disproportionately underrepresented in many industries, including life sciences. Join this panel of academic, industry, and nonprofit leaders for a discussion on the steps industry can take to remove structural barriers to employment experienced by under-resourced communities. Panelists will explore the importance of broadening the diversity of candidates applying for industry positions, as well as the value of social impact partnerships that upskill a diverse talent pipeline for opportunities in the industry. Panelists will also explore the value of creating long-term pathways not simply to a life sciences job, but rather to a life sciences career.  

Moderator
Kevin Beverly, Chair, The Universities at Shady Grove

Panelists
Maurice Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer, OneTen
Anne Khademian, Executive Director, Universities at Shady Grove, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University System of Maryland
Marty Rosendale, Chief Executive Officer, Maryland Life Sciences
Yaminah Leggett-Wells, Senior Director, Alliance Management, Horizon

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm Networking Lunch
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Business of Bio Workshop C

Part 1  |  Raising Capital

Panelists
Brad Stewart
,
Senior Vice President of Business Development, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation
Sally Allain, MSc., MBA, Head, JLABS @ Washington, DC and Interim Head JLABS North East, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS

Part 2  |  Raising Capital – Financing Strategy and Approach

This session will explore strategic and tactical considerations of equity financing for life science companies.  We will start with discussion on investor outreach, presentation materials and potential sources of equity capital.  The session also will broadly explore how to successfully raise equity in the context of a company’s life cycle/stage and tactical considerations too, such as issues to get right at any initial financing, readying for a due diligence process, understanding key lingo, and the anatomy and intricacies of a typical venture capital financing.

Panelists
Matt Schwee
, Associate, Cooley
Lila Inman, Associate, Cooley