PRESS RELEASE
“The future of healthcare will be built on truly differentiated drugs”
Experts from pharma and biotech discuss the future of collaborations in healthcare
Dusseldorf (25 September 2013): 100 experts from the international Life Science sector gathered in
Dusseldorf, capital of North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany, at the 7th European Business Development
Conference organised by the German biotechnology industry organisation (BIO Deutschland) to
discuss concepts of drug development, partnering and financing strategies. Panelists throughout the
two day program strongly agreed that the key to success lies in truly differentiated drugs that can
make a clear difference in a patient’s life and at the same time are financially sustainable.
The diverse program covered trends in oncology, investment criteria, the risk area of orphan drugs as
well the future of research and development for chronic diseases. After the welcome address of Peter
Heinrich, president of BIO Deutschland, the first keynote speaker Simon Moroney, CEO of
MorphoSys, gave his highly anticipated opening presentation with the title “How to create sustainable
success in the healthcare sector”. He ended by stating that the future of healthcare will be built on truly
differentiated drugs. A claim also repeatedly stressed by other distinguished panelists throughout the
program.
According to Detlev Biniszkiewicz, VP Oncology at AstraZeneca, the future of cancer therapy is in the
combination of different approaches. “We need you, we need biotech”, Biniszkiewicz said to
emphasize AstraZeneca’s open approach to collaboration.
The first conference day ended with a discussion panel of biotech financing experts who engaged in a
lively discussion about how to identify the right “window of opportunity” for partnering. According to
Karsten Henco of HS Life Sciences, this window is very early within the first two years, a
recommendation not unanimously shared by his discussion partners Olivier Litzka (Edmond de
Rothschild Investment Partners), Frank Kalkbrenner (Boehringer Ingelheim) and Martin Pöhlchen
(Sinfonie Life Science Management).
A round of presentations of biotech orphan drugs developers put the spotlight on the regulatory risks
involved with clinical trials for orphan drugs. Thomas Meier, CEO of Santhera Pharmaceuticals
illustrated the advantages of adaptive licensing as an emerging regulatory approach to allow earlier
market entry and patient access to treatments with promising evidence of efficacy. At the final session
about novel therapies for chronic diseases, panelists agreed that thanks to novel therapies, many
deadly diseases have become chronic and manageable. Also Mark McDade, COO at UCB, stressed
the importance of focusing on novel drugs that show a clear benefit compared to existing formulas.
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The European partners at this year’s conference were the European Association of Pharma
Biotechnology (EAPB), the European Biopharmaceutical Enterprises (EBE), the European
Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (EUCOPE) and the European Association for
Bioindustries (EuropaBIO)
The conference was also supported by the Spanish Association of Bioenterprises (ASEBIO), the
Dutch Biotech Association (BioFarmind), the UK’s BioIndustry Association (BIA), the Belgian
Association for Bioindustries (Bio.Be), the Industrial Biotechnology Association of Canada
(BIOTECanada), Life Science Austria (LISA), the Netherlands biotech industry association (niaba), the
Norwegian Bioindustry Association (Norsk Biotekforum), the Swedish Biotech Association
(SwedenBio) and the Swiss Biotech Association (SBA).
Furthermore, the conference was supported by BIO.NRW, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, MIG Fonds
and Catenion.
Downloads:
This press release is available at
www.biodeutschland.org/press-releases.html
About BIO Deutschland:
As the sector association of the biotechnology industry, BIO Deutschland has set itself the objective of
supporting and promoting the development of an innovative economic sector based on modern
biosciences. BIO Deutschland currently has 300 members. Dr. Peter Heinrich is president of BIO
Deutschland. Further information at: www.biodeutschland.org
Supporting members and partners of BIO Deutschland are:
Bayer, Biotest, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Clariant, CMS Hasche Sigle, Deutsche Bank,
EBD Group, Ernst & Young, Isenbruck Bösl Hörschler LLP, KPMG, Merck Serono, Miltenyi
Biotec, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Roche und Sanofi.
Foto:
Discussion on “Processes to find future winners. What are today’s investment criteria?” at the
European Business Development Conference, Foto: BIO Deutschland
Press contact:
BIO Deutschland e. V.
Dr. Claudia Englbrecht
Am Weidendamm 1a
10117 Berlin
Tel.: +49-(0)-30-72625-132, Fax: -138
E-Mail: englbrecht@biodeutschland.org
Web: www.biodeutschland.org
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