LifeScience Alley Programs & Events

Post-Election Wrap Up

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:00:00 GMT

Mr. Dougherty will identify and discuss key trends in the health policy arena that will likely impact the medical device environment for 2009. This will include a brief post-election wrap up as well as discussion of the impact that the financial markets will have on health benefits structures, access to innovation, growing focus on comparative effectiveness and the importance of evidence in accessing the marketplace.

Life Science Firms are From Mars - Landlords are From Venus

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:00:00 GMT

Life science companies have needs that do not fit traditional warehouse or office leases. Clean rooms and controlled environments, specialized pure water systems, H occupancy, temperature and humidity controls, space flexibility, consistent/ clean power, FDA and ISO requirements, inventory quarantine- the list unique space needs is long, but doesn't fit well with traditional real estate investment models.

An inappropriate lease arrangement can be a huge drag on a growing lifescience company. But a well-crafted lease can put the company and its landlord in a successful relationship that balances the objectives of both. The key is in the planning and negotiation.

Join us as a panel of lifescience executives, moderated by one of the Twin Cities' most experienced real estate experts, outlines the keys to planning, negotiating and implementing real estate commitments that propel business initiatives, not impede them.

We will address planning and negotiation topics such as:
• Flexibility in lease term and physical expansion
• Landlord funding of specialty improvements such as clean rooms
• Choice of architect and contractor
• Power and Utility infrastructure
• Alteration rights and obligations during the term of the lease
• Leasing vs. owning
• Site and municipality selection
• Challenges for start-up and development stage operations
• Municipal, State and other incentives

Recommended Audience: CEO's, CFO's, COO's, Facility managers and Strategic Business planning professionals that are examining present and future real estate & facility needs.

Moderator:
Tom Hauschild, Co-Founder & Partner, TEGRA Group
Panelists:
Carl Orr, COO, Medafor, Hemostatic Polymer Technologies
Jim Bracke, PhD, Principal, Boulder Creek Consulting LLC - Business and Technology Consultants

Cardiac Valves: Past, Present, and Future

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:00:00 GMT

The Second Annual Bakken Surgical Device Symposium will be held December 8-9, 2008, spotlighting Cardiac Valves. This program will explore the early innovations and current practice with an eye to future developments in cardiac valve design and technique. Alley Institute and the Minnesota Medical Foundation fund this continuing series thanks to your tax-deductible contribution**. A substantial portion of registration fees support our annual spotlight on device development and innovation.

**$300 of the Full Conference Registration rate is tax-deductible, or $200 of your Day One or Day Two Conference Registration rate is tax-deductible.

This program has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit. Determination of exact number of credits is pending.

There are hotel rooms reserved for the Bakken Symposium for Dec. 7th and Dec. 8th at the Radisson University Hotel, 2 blocks from the symposium. Rate per night is $109.00. Please Reference the Bakken Symposium when booking. View website.

The Bakken Surgical Device Symposium is presented by the University of Minnesota and supported by LifeScience Alley and Alley Institute

Don't forget to register for the 7th Annual LifeScience Alley Conference & Expo, which follows this program on December 10th! Register Here.

Agenda: December 8, 2008
8:00 am - Welcome
Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS and Jay Phillips, Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota

8:15 am - Welcome
Frank B. Cerra, M.D., Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, Academic Health Center, University of Minnesota

9:00 am - Plenary Talk - Progress Toward a Tissue Engineered Heart Valve
Speaker: John E. Mayer Jr., M.D., Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School

10:00 am - Coffee Break

10:30 am - History of Cardiac Valve Development at the University of Minnesota
Richard W. Bianco, Program Director Experimental Surgical Services, Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Minnesota

11:00 am - Session I: Mechanical Heart Valves
Moderator: Herbert Ward, M.D.
Speakers: Hartzell Schaff, M.D., Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Mayo Clinic; Jack Bokros, Ph.D, CEO, Medical Carbon Research; Robert Emery Jr., M.D., Cardiac Surgical Associates

12:00 - Lunch (box lunches provided)

1:00 pm - Session I: Mechanical Heart Valves
Moderator: Herbert Ward, M.D.
Speaker: Robert Gallegos, M.D., Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

2:00 pm - Session II: Tissue Heart Valves
Moderator: Sara Shumway, M.D.
Speakers: James L. Cox, M.D., Emeritus Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Medical Director, ATS Medical, Inc.; W. Eric Jamison, M.D., Professor of Surgery, University of British Columbia; James St. Louis, M.D., Associate Professor, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Aldo Castaneda Professorship in Congenital Heart Surgery; Kenneth Liao, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation Program, Head, Robotic & Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery Program, CMIS

3:30 pm - Coffee Break

4:00 pm - Session III: Device Development: From Bench to Bedside
Moderator: Lyle Joyce, M.D.
Speakers: Frederick J. Schoen, M.D., Ph.D, Professor of Pathology and Health Services and Technology, Harvard Medical School, Brigham & Women's Hospital; Robert J. Levy, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Attending Cardiologist

5:00 pm Adjourn

AGENDA: December 9, 2008
8:30 am - Welcome by Earl Bakken

8:45 am - Session III: Device Development: From Bench to Bedside
Moderator: Rose Kelly, M.D.
Speakers: Ulrich Steinseifer, Ph.D, Head of Cardiovascular Engineering, Helmholtz-Institute, RWTH Aachen University, Chair of Applied Medical Engineering; Ajit Yoganathan, Ph.D, Regents' Professor, Associate Chair for Research, The Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Chair in Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology; Paul Iaizzo, Ph.D, M.D., Professor of Surgery, Integrative Biology and Physiology and Anesthesiology, University of Minnesota, Distinguished University Teaching Professor, Medtronic Professor of Visible Heart Research; Zeeshan Syedain, Graduate Student, Robert T. Tranquillo Lab

10:30 am - Coffee Break

11:00 am - Session IV: Looking to the Future - Techniques and Technology
Moderator: Dan Garry, M.D.
Speakers: Robert Wilson, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Director, Interventional Cardiology, University of Minnesota Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Fairview University Medical Center; Raoul Bonan, M.D., Institut de Cardiologie de Montreal; Ranjit John, M.D., Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Minnesota

12:00 - Lunch

1:00 pm - Session IV: Looking to the Future
Moderator: Dan Garry: M.D.
Speakers: Mathew Williams, M.D., Surgical Director, Cardiovascular Transcatheter Therapies, Cardiac Surgery and Interventional Cardiology, New York Presbyterian Hospital; Rakesh M. Suri, M.D., Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Mayo Clinic

2:00 pm - Coffee Break

2:30 pm - 4:30 pm - Closing Plenary - Cardiac Surgeons and Cardiologists on Future Directions in Cardiac Valve Replacement
Moderator: Richard Bianco
Plenary Speakers: Dr. James Cox, Dr. Hartzell Schaff, Dr. John Mayer, Dr. Raoul Bonan, Dr. Mathew Williams, Dr. Robert Wilson, Dr. Robert F. Schwartz, Dr. Robert Emery Jr.

7th Annual Conference & Expo

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:00:00 GMT

7th Annual LifeScience Alley Conference & Expo
December 10, 2008
Minneapolis, MN Convention Center

This event brings together life science leaders from Minnesota and around the world. Attendees of this annual conference represent the medical device, health care, pharmaceutical, biopharma, agricultural and industrial biotechnology and renewable energy sectors.

This conference showcases widely respected speakers, world renowned companies and research institutions, new technologies, and juried poster sessions. It provides access to top industry leaders, opportunities to build your business or research through education and networking, with insights into current trends, regulations, research and emerging technologies. Based on past history, this year's conference is expected to draw more than 1,500 attendees from over 25 states and a dozen countries.

Four General Keynote Sessions will be offered pulling in industry leaders to inform on future trends.

Breakfast General Session: The Road to 2025 - Global Outlook for the Bioscience Industry by Paul Keckley, PhD, Executive Director , Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, Washington, DC.
President's General Session: Minnesota & the Upper Midwest: Annual Life Sciences Update & Future Insights by Don Gerhardt, President & CEO, LifeScience Alley.
Luncheon General Session: Innovations in Health Care: Opportunities, Challenges and Accountabilities by Reed V. Tuckson, MD, FACP, Executive Vice President & Chief of Medical Affairs, United Health Group
Wrap-Up General Session: Improving the World Through the Work You Do by Peter Agre, MD, University Professor and Director, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

High-level FDA Officials as Seminar Speakers

FDA Speakers: Donna-Bea Tillman, PhD, Director, Office of Device Evaluation, and Thinh Nguyen, Director, Premarket Approval Section

Hot Topics, 8:30 - 9:30 Seminars
Hear industry leaders share key insights on these current hot topics:

Physician - Industry Relationships
Medical Defense Funding
Next Generation Cardiac Devices
Doing Business in China
Managing Negative News
Implications of Electronic Medical Records
Homegrown Advances in Next-Generation Renewables

Seven educational tracks:

Medical Devices
Innovation in Patient Care
Biologics & Pharmaceuticals
Food & Nutrition
Research & Development
Clinical & Regulatory Affairs
Emerging Companies

Other Conference Highlights:

New Technology Showcase
Innovation & Collaboration Center with meeting rooms
Exhibit Hall featuring 160 exhibitors
Juried poster session
Holiday Alley Chats Networking Reception in the Expo Hall

Sponsorships and exhibit space are selling out fast! See who has already signed up!

A registration brochure is available to download. Visit the conference website for more information and to register.

Midwest Personalized Health Framework - December Meeting

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:00:00 GMT

We are thrilled to announce that our December 11th meeting will feature two substantial components that will help move this initiative significantly forward. In the morning, a top-tier panel of federal government officials from HHS, FDA, CMS, NIH and the AHRQ will engage directly with academic research and industry members in the Midwest who are pursuing personalized medicine, announcing their plans to foster greater innovation. They also wish to hear from you about how they can best support your vital work in this field.

The second half of this session will feature a panel of payers who will share what opportunities they see for new personalized medicine products (specific diagnostics, etc.) and what it takes to get new products through their review processes.

Join this working group of leaders in genomics-based medicine. This initiative will draw together those experts throughout the Midwest who are working in the field of Personalized Medicine, including academic researchers, health care organizations, medical device manufacturers, biopharmaceutical companies and service firms working in the areas of:
• Biomarker Identification
• Pharmacogenomics
• Laboratory Services
• Molecular Diagnostics

The primary goals of the Midwest Personalized Health Framework are to connect key players in the region, discuss industry trends, explore case studies in the field of personalized medicine, consider funding and partnering opportunities, and identify ways to develop needed products in personalized medicine for the benefit of current and new organizations working in this field. This will strengthen the fabric of the region's bioscience industry, draw attention to it and foster a more diversified bio-economy that is more in tune with the future of medicine.

Thank you to our Founding Sponsors: Faegre & Benson LLP and the University of Minnesota, Academic Health Center
University full-time faculty, staff, and students may register free of charge. Please enter GOPHER as the validation code to disable fees.

Founding Sponsorships are still available. If interested, please contact Dana Boyle at dboyle@lifesciencealley.org for more information.

Sponsorship Breakfast 2009

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Please join us for the 2nd annual Sponsorship Breakfast, hosted by LifeScience Alley, in recognition of the incredible support we continue to receive from all sponsors and advertisers from year to year.

There is no cost to attend this event, so register now to enjoy a hot breakfast on us and to learn about all of our marketing and sponsoring opportunities for the 2009 calendar year. All individuals interested in learning about these opportunities are welcome, whether you have previously sponsored/advertised with us or not.

During the breakfast, we will present all of our marketing opportunities for 2009, including descriptions of all sponsorships, programs, and events, as well as the target audiences for these opportunities. We want to make certain that your marketing dollars are best aligned to meet your organization's goals by getting the right message to the right people in the life sciences.

Please check the Marketing Opportunities section of our website in December 2008 to see advanced materials, sign-up sheets, etc., for the 2009 opportunities.

Accelerate Design-to-Market of Medical Devices with Realistic Simulation

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Innovation in the medical industry is being constantly driven by the need to provide improved healthcare options to patients - both in emerging markets and in the aging, yet physically active populations of developed countries. However, the complexities of patient conditions pose considerable challenges to the design and performance evaluation of medical devices. In order to succeed in this increasingly competitive and highly regulated market, medical device companies are focusing on optimizing their design processes and managing intellectual assets effectively across the supply chain.

Attend this seminar to learn how to accelerate your product development cycle by deploying realistic simulation methods, quickly exploring thousands of design options, optimizing your design, and efficiently managing your simulation life cycle. Learn how simulation software products are being used in the design processes across the medical device sector including stents, pacemakers, orthopedics, and drug-delivery systems.

Intended Audience: Medical device designers, inventors, product development managers, and academics who wish to incorporate state-of-the-art simulation methods into their product design to improve design decisions and rely less on prototyping and physical tests.