"I am very pleased to welcome Mr G. Steven Burrill, Chief Executive Officer of Burrill&Company as keynote speaker for the plenary session of Biofit that will focus on Open Innovation issues" confirmed Etienne Vervaecke, Biofit’s General commissioner.

“We lived in a world where we had largely a one size fits all drug. […] That’s no longer true. […]We’ve moved very rapidly into the world of more personalized medicine. If you have got limited capital, you figure out what are the few things that you can do that have a higher probability of success, and you put a lot of other things in the refrigerator. In the worst year of the capital market’s history, we raised more money than we ever did before. It makes no sense. But if you say why is that? That’s because we had to. And when death is the alternative, we get pretty inventive. The instinct to survive is incredibly powerful. […] Secondly, we raised a lot of money because big pharma is looking for a pipeline. […] No matter how inventive they are, they can’t invent enough to support themselves. So increasingly they’re doing partnerships, they’re doing acquisitions, they’re doing all kinds of things to shore up their pipeline. […]We’ll raise a lot of money in 2010 for the same reasons.”   Excerpts from Steven Burrill’s interview accorded to Biobusiness TV at the occasion of the launch of his annual state of the biotechnology industry report entitled "Biotech 2010 Life Sciences: Adapting for Success". G. Steven Burrill has been involved in the growth and prosperity of the biotechnology industry for over 40 years. An early pioneer, Mr. Burrill is one of the original architects of the industry and one of its most avid and sustained developers.

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Conference Program Preview of Biofit

 The place of open innovation in the biotechnology and healthcare sector in 2010 – views from the academia and the industry
// What is the current position of the academia and the industry (big pharma and SMEs) regarding  Open Innovation?
// Does size matter?
// Has recession influenced the way partnerships work? Has it created new opportunities for  Open Innovation?

  How academia can capitalize on Intellectual Property  – to spin or not to spin?
//What are the various options for universities to capitalize on their  Intellectual Property ?

Creating the right financial and fiscal ecosystem for early-stage biotechs
//What venture funds are available for early stage biotechs?
//The role of public funding schemes

The dos and don’ts of new partnering business models
// What new business models are we moving towards (ie. Technology bundling, virtual drug development)?
// How to make these models successful?
// What are the risks involved?

Making the most of open innovation opportunities and avoiding their pitfalls
// Case studies from the industry and the academia
// What are the possible risks and benefits?

Taking into account the human factor in collaborative projects: managing internal and external Human Resources.
// How to best integrate and manage the needs and wants of  Tech Transfer Offices with those of R&D departments?
// How Manage the complex relationship between academics and their Tech Transfer Officers?

What Is the role of “in-licensing” in current day academic technology transfer practice?

Nicholas Dunster, PhD, Senior Business Analyst, The Wellcome Trust, UK

How can universities and the private sector foster tech transfer and successful partnerships?

It is important that there is a clear understanding of the needs and wants of both parties. The institution must try to form a realistic assessment of the value of the technology and the downstream partner should be clear about the profile/stage of development of opportunity that is sought. There is more chance of success if both parties are flexible in their approach to structuring the deal - either as a straight license, risk-sharing collaboration or the creation of a spin out. Further, there should be clarity over IP rights, and not just arising IP but all background IP necessary to develop the project. What rights do the funders of the backgroud IP have over the nature of the exploitation route? Finally, both parties should be pragmatic in their assessment of progress, which will never be in a linear or even fashion.

What could be the impact of “open innovation” in academic technology transfer practice?

There is an opportunity to think creatively about how the open innovation model could provide a mindset for early stage companies to best exploit their portfolio of assets. Open innovation requires the holder of the asset to be outward facing and to be alive to the different ways that their technology could dovetail with others. A curiosity of the technological and end-user environments is key to maximising the outcomes from such an approach. As an example, platform technologies, with their generic applicability, might be particularly suited to the creation of multiple alliances. These in turn, could provide increased proof of concept in order to validate the core asset across a number of settings. The clustering of new enterprises around an estabilished house of technological development is one way to facilitate the cross-fertilisation of ideas and the pooling of resource. In alignment with this idea, the Wellcome Trust has contributed funding to the Open Innovation Bioscience Park based in Stevenage, which is in close proximity to GSK.

We would like to invite you to apply for Presentation track at Biofit 2010.
Academic researchers, TTOs and scientific directors from innovative companies are invited to submit an application for a 20-minute presentation during the presentation track session.

You want to transfer your technologies, to find potential partners for your research and to initiate strategic alliances?

Take this unique opportunity to present:

• Key technologies
• Product development
• Existing alliances between academia and biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies 
• Licensing / Collaboration opportunities

An independent Expert will help applicants for preparing presentation content.

IP & law firms, services providers, consulting companies, are invited toregister for a 20-minutepresentation during the presentation track session called “Presenting companies”.

Presentation fee – To add to the (early bird or regular) registration fee: 500 € excl. VAT

You want to promote your services and expertises to high potential executives from academic research and emerging biotech?
Take this unique opportunity to present:

• Commercialize your products and servicestechnologies supporting innovation process: patenting, licensing, spin-out companies
• Enlarging your alliance portfolio and scientific intelligence
• Target and meet potential clients and partners

The deadline to submit applications to present is: September 15, 2010.
To apply, please contact Aurélie Valentin at avalentin@biofit-event.com