Photo Gallery
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Attendees at Boston 2018

Why Attend
Join the 2nd Annual conference connecting human biotechs with the animal health industry.
Traditionally, innovation in veterinary health has come from parent human pharmaceutical R&D pipelines. Within an increasingly independent and mature animal health industry, new routes to innovation are being established. There are a multitude of exceptional technologies in the human health field that could be used in animal health, but currently there is limited contact between the two areas – this summit aims to connect the two industries.
Benefits of the Animal Health industry to Biotechs:
Testimonials
"This was an excellent event. As a newbie to animal health this was an eye opener. Some great connections and introductions. I would highly recommend your conference. The right balance of networking and information. Thank you!"
Sean Ekins, CEO, COLLABORATIONS PHARMA
"This conference provided relevant information and has led to a potential collaboration. I thought the conference was well focused. It was time well spent. I learned a lot and had productive networking sessions. The concept of the confluence of Human Biomedical development and Animal health is integral to our business plan. Kalos looks to leverage its proof of concept work as well as safety and tox to create parallel product lines."
George Colberg, CEO, Kalos Therapeutics, Inc.
"A well organized conference that established a strong link between biotechnology innovation and potential veterinary uses.”
Michael G. Palfreyman, Director, R&D Advisory Board, PAFOS PHARMA LLC
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
HUMAN BIOTECHNOLOGY
Chief Executive Officers, Chief Scientific Officers, Chief Business Officers and corporate leadership from human biotechs working on technologies in fields including but not limited to:
ANIMAL HEALTH
- Directors of External Innovation & Business Development from leading Animal Health Pharmaceutical and Nutrition Companies
- Market Intelligence and Consultancy Providers
INVESTMENT & SERVICE PROVIDERS
- Private Equity & Venture Capital Investors
- Investment Bankers & M&A advisors
- Legal Advisory
Benefits of Attending
FORGE RELATIONSHIPS with animal health executives and human biotechs in prescheduled 1-on-1 meetings, and discuss research collaborations, deallicensing and other business development opportunities
Address unmet and underserved medical needs across human and veterinary health
Human Biotechs
Identify the target disease areas in animal health that your human health assets can serve
Explore opportunities for generating non-dilutive income, validating and de-risking human research, and maximizing IP assets in our myth-busting case studies of human biotech and animal health partnerships
Learn about the different types of partnerships with animal health, such as research collaborations and out-licensing deals - and how these deals work
Animal Health
Speakers

Scott Brown

Ailis Tweed-Kent
Dr. Ailis Tweed-Kent is an up-and-coming entrepreneur and leader in the development of innovative medical technologies. With her education in medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Ailis has first-hand knowledge of the burden of disease. In 2013, Ailis was inspired by her patients to found Cocoon to develop innovative silk therapeutics for osteoarthritis. Prior to Cocoon, she worked on the design, development, and delivery of diagnostic technologies for global health collaborating with organizations such as PEPFAR/Office of U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and the Global Health Delivery Project. She brings a multidisciplinary approach with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Peter Hanson
Centrexion is developing a pipeline of non-opioid, non-addictive treatments to manage pain in people and animals. Peter started his career as a practicing veterinarian and has spent the last 21 years in industry. At Merck and then Merial he was the project leader for two global programs that led to new pain management products for osteoarthritis in dogs and horses. He subsequently held leadership roles for pharmaceutical R&D and project & portfolio management before moving to Abbott Animal Health where he was head of R&D & medical affairs. Peter received his BA and DVM from the University of Minnesota and completed a large animal surgical residency, MS and PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lewis Gruber
Lewis Gruber is Chief Executive Officer and a founder of SIWA Therapeutics, Inc. (“SIWA”). SIWA is a pre-clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody (“mAb”) that binds to a SIWA-identified advanced glycation endproduct target antigen on senescent cells (“SCs”) and removes them. SCs accumulate with aging or exposure to stress and have a causative role in age-related dysfunction and degenerative diseases including. by way of example, many cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, ALS, and Alzheimer’s Disease, SIWA has the complete sequence of SIWA 318H, which provides the basis for senescent cell clearance in any mammalian species. Prior to founding SIWA, Mr. Gruber was a founder of Arryx, Inc., and served as its CEO from 2000 through 2005 (acquired by a publicly-held company). While Mr. Gruber was at Arryx, it received numerous awards including ones for World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer (2005) and Red Herring Top 100 Innovator for 2004. Prior to Arryx, he was a founder of Hyseq, Inc, a publicly-held genomics company (subsequently merged). He served as Hyseq’s CEO from 1994 through 2000. While CEO, Hyseq completed the largest IPO of a biotechnology company in 1997 (underwritten by Salomon Smith Barney and others) and obtained collaborations for Hyseq totaling over $10 million. The technology was sold to Beijing Genomics Institute.

George Colberg

Jed Hubbs

Sharon Chase
Dr. Sharon Chase is a small animal veterinarian with over a decade of clinical practice experience gained from working in general and emergency hospitals in Massachusetts and Washington, DC. In addition to clinical practice, Dr. Chase served as a reviewer with the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) for over seven years. She currently works as a regulatory consultant for the veterinary pharmaceutical industry with Schafer Veterinary Consultants, based in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Chris Robillard
Chris has spent the last 3 years in business development at Karyopharm helping to advance clinical stage products to commercialization in both the human and animal oncology settings. Karyopharm has tested multiple products in canine oncology, both to inform clinical design in humans and to seek partners to advance products in canine oncology. Chris has spent the over 10 years in pharma/biotech in various business development and financial roles.

Cheryl London

Dorothy Brown
Dottie is the lead executional scientist for TCMR at Eli Lilly/Elanco. TCMR facilitates companion animal studies designed to de-risk assets in the Lilly pipeline, as well as assets of potential Lilly partners. At the University of Pennsylvania, Dottie led a sponsored translational research program focusing on the development of outcome assessment instruments for chronic pain in companion animals and applying those instruments to translational studies evaluating the efficacy of novel interventions, such as targeted neurotoxins, in dogs with naturally occurring bone cancer or osteoarthritis. At Eli Lilly/Elanco, she now directs companion animal studies across institutions in order to leverage high quality, systematic translational data with the goal of improving both human and animal health.

Erin Wright
Erin Wright is the senior Healthcare Technology & Distribution Equity Research Analyst at Credit Suisse. Her uniquely broad coverage footprint of 30+ companies spans multiple healthcare sub-sectors including companies in Animal Health, Pharmacy Benefit Management, Pharmaceutical and Medical Distribution, Retail Pharmacy, Dental, Information Technology Services, Clinical Laboratories, and Contract Research Organizations. Erin pioneered a commercial franchise in the Animal Health sector, the first on Wall Street to cover the space in a comprehensive fashion, leveraging her broad experience in equity research covering the pharmaceutical supply chain and products. She has been prominently featured in acclaimed peer reviewed journals as a thought-leader in healthcare industries such as Animal Health. Prior to joining Credit Suisse in 2016, Erin was a lead Equity Research Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch for eight years, focusing on specific subsectors within healthcare, including Animal Health, Infection Control, and Dental. Erin received a BA in Economics from Harvard University, with an emphasis on Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. She is an avid golfer and lives in New York City.

Bruce Taillon

Milton Boyle
Milton has over 30 years experience in animal agriculture and animal health. He started his career as a commercial poultry geneticist and was head of R&D for 2 primary poultry breeders (Avian Farms International and Hubbard Farms). Since 2007, he has worked for Merial and now Boehringer Ingelheim as the business development partner for R&D focusing on licenses and research collaborations.

Scott DeWire
Scott is responsible for immuno-oncology partnerships and licensing at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. Scott learned to pipette as an intern and later bench scientist with Pfizer Animal Health in his hometown of Groton, CT. After Pfizer, he earned a PhD from the University of North Carolina, and completed his postdoc at Duke University with Robert Lefkowitz (2012 Nobel Prize). Out of his postdoc, Scott co-founded Trevena Inc, a biotech company focused on GPCR biology. Since joining Boehringer in 2012, Scott has held various roles in the research group before joining BD&L in 2016.
Scott has a lifelong love of animals, and he and his family currently have a menagerie of animals that includes his three cherished beagles.

David R. Boyko
David R. Boyko is Director, Global Business Development for Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada), a part of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ. In this role, David is responsible to identify, evaluate, negotiate and execute licensing and business development transactions for animal health products and services, including newly emerging animal diseases, biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, drug and vaccine delivery and new, digital technologies. Geographically, he focuses on opportunities for the North American business units.
Underpinning that role are more than twenty years of legal practice, with twenty of those years as a deal lawyer, business partner and counselor in the life sciences industry. His legal career includes extensive experience in corporate development and licensing activities for prescription, over-the-counter health and animal health products and technologies, as well as in the new area of digital health. He has advised executive and senior management levels on a broad range of legal issues, including M&A, regulatory, commercial, corporate governance and litigation, managed lawyers and controlled outside counsel annual budgets in excess of $2MM. David also has been Division Counsel for Healthcare Services & Solutions, Merck's business unit for innovative, non-drug healthcare solutions, a Senior Counsel in the Corporate Transactions Groups of both Merck and Schering-Plough, and an executive officer for Xenogen Corporation. In private practice, David was with the law firms of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. He has a number of published articles on intellectual property and antitrust matters, and has chaired licensing panels at several annual meetings of the Association of Corporate Counsel.
David earned his J.D. degree from the University of California Los Angeles, his M.A. degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California and his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. David is also a veteran, having served eight years of active duty as a U.S. Air Force officer.

Linda Rhodes
Dr. Rhodes has 28 years of accomplishments in human and animal drug discovery, development, biomedical research, and clinical veterinary medicine.
Dr. Rhodes was educated at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (VMD) and Cornell University (PhD). She has 28 years of accomplishments in human and animal drug discovery, development, biomedical research, and clinical veterinary medicine. She has an extensive background in physiology, veterinary medicine, and molecular biology. As a senior research fellow at Merck Research Laboratories for 10 years, she led pre-clinical biology evaluation of several marketed human drugs. Dr. Rhodes practiced clinical veterinary medicine for five years, with experience in both companion and farm animal practice. She worked for Merial Ltd. as director of development projects, leading project teams developing novel compounds for a variety of indications and headed new technology assessment, leading the evaluation of licensing opportunities. In April 2001, she formed AlcheraBio, a consulting, marketing, communications and contract research firm specializing in developing new drugs for animals, working with biotechnology and animal health companies, with clients in the US, European Union, Canada and Australia. AlcheraBio was acquired in 2008 by Argenta, and in 2011, Dr. Rhodes accepted a position as CEO of Aratana Therapeutics, a company developing innovative new medicines for dogs and cats, and subsequently, when the company became public (PETX) served as its Chief Scientific Officer. During her tenure, development was completed on three new pet therapeutics: two new molecules with novel mechanisms of actions were approved by the FDA, and a third drug had FDA registration completed and was approved in August, 2016. She is currently retired and an independent consultant. She is a member of the Board of Directors of ImmuCell (NASDAQ: ICCC) and the Alliance for Contraception in Dogs and Cats, serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Found Animals Foundation. She is an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate Animal Science program at Rutgers University.
Headline Partner
Boehringer Ingelheim
Website: http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com
Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, Boehringer Ingelheim operates presently with a total of some 50,000 employees worldwide. The focus of the family-owned company, founded in 1885, is on researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing new medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine. In 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about 14.8 billion euros. R&D expenditure corresponds to 20.3 per cent of net sales.
For more information, please visit www.Boehringer-Ingleheim.com
Associate Partners
Elanco
Website: http://www.elanco.com
Elanco Animal Health (NYSE: ELAN) is a global leader in animal health dedicated to innovating and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets, creating value for farmers, pet owners, veterinarians, stakeholders, and society as a whole. With nearly 70 years of animal health heritage, we are committed to helping our customers improve the health of animals in their care, while also making a meaningful impact on our local and global communities. At Elanco, we’re driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching life and our Elanco Healthy Purpose™ CSR framework – all to advance the health of animals, people and the planet.
Merck Animal Health
Website: http://www.merck-animal-health.com
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines
for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, is the global animal
health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to the Science of Healthier Animals®, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers,
pet owners and governments one of the widest range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services.
Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals. It invests extensively in dynamic
and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products
are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and
Twitter at @MerckAH.
TechAccel
Website: http://techaccel.net/
TechAccel, LLC, is a technology and venture development company focused in the agriculture and animal health industry.
Since its founding in 2014, TechAccel sources, invests in and acquires early-stage innovations. Through collaborations with universities and research institutions, TechAccel conducts advancement and de-risking research and development to ready technologies for commercialization.
TechAccel is based in Overland Park, Kansas, with offices in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, visit www.TechAccel.net. Follow us on Twitter at @Tech_Accel.
Zoetis
Website: http://www.zoetis.com
Zoetis is the leading animal health company, dedicated to supporting its customers and their businesses. Building on more than 65 years of experience in animal health, Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines, vaccines and diagnostic products, which are complemented by biodevices, genetic tests and precision livestock farming. Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals with sales of its products in more than 100 countries. In 2019, the company generated annual revenue of $6.3 billion with approximately 10,600 employees.
For more information, visit www.zoetis.com.
Event Partners
Anterra Capital
Website: http://www.anterracapital.com
We are a specialist venture capital investor dedicated to financing the growth of companies operating in the food & agricultural sectors
We invest across the food supply chain in technology driven companies
We focus on companies headquartered in Europe or North America although we will consider companies in other geographies
At the time of our investment our companies are typically generating revenue and have great growth prospects
We invest up to USD 20m in equity per company taking a significant minority ownership position
We are active in the boards of portfolio companies working alongside management teams to build lasting value
As a sector specialist we pride ourselves on our ability to add value in ways that generalist investors can't even dream of
Argenta
Website: http://www.argentaglobal.com
Argenta Limited, founded in 2006, is the world’s only combined contract research organization (CRO) and contract manufacturing organization (CMO) specializing in animal health. With accredited operations and facilities across New Zealand, the United States and Scotland, Argenta is fully equipped to offer a full range of products and services - from access to innovative intellectual property, formulations research and development (R&D), analytical methods development, clinical trial management through to pilot- technical transfer and commercial-scale manufacturing - to the global animal health industry. Argenta’s 400+ global team develops and exports products and services to over 40 countries.
A privately-owned company headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, Argenta brings innovation, R&D and manufacturing expertise together in one global company. This makes it ideally placed to accommodate unique product requirements no matter the scale or complexity. Argenta’s facilities in New Zealand, the United States (Iowa, Kansas and New Jersey) and Europe (Scotland) enable the achievement of significant efficiencies in product development and technology transfer, and to provide market intelligence and in-depth knowledge of market preferences in different countries as required.
Argenta is honoured to work with a vast range of clients globally - from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to some of the largest industry players. Argenta has the R&D capabilities and manufacturing scale to service the requirements of the largest multinationals, while, at the other end of the spectrum, Argenta works with startups and small companies with great ideas to help them find solutions and bring their ideas to fruition.
For more information, please visit www.argentaglobal.com.
Clinvet
Website: http://www.clinvet.com
Clinvet is a GCP/GLP accredited Contract Research Organisation (CRO) established in 1999 and specialises in the conduct of laboratory and field-based efficacy, safety and metabolism trials for veterinary health products.
Since inception, Clinvet has conducted more than 1300 studies aiding in the discovery, development and registration of veterinary products worldwide.
Services offered by Clinvet
Laboratory in vitro and in vivo efficacy studies as well as safety and metabolism studies for animal medicine. We maintain an extensive bank of parasites (helminths and arthropods) originating from the US, EU and Africa for use in challenges on companion and production animals. Test animals frequently used include rats, rabbits, cats, dogs, goats, sheep, cattle and horses. We offer the following studies:
- Glass vial contact assay
- Artificial membrane feeding assay
- Proof of concept efficacy
- Dose determination and confirmation
- Parasite challenge efficacy
- Bioequivalence
- Pharmacokinetics
- Residue depletion
- Target animal safety
Clinical trial conduct as well as the following support services for animal clinical field and laboratory studies:
- Project management, monitoring and quality assurance
- Protocol, report writing and case report form (CRF) design
- Electronic database, design and validation (EDC/Paper)
- Data management, biostatistics and statistical programming
- Serological (IFA and ELISA) and molecular (qPCR and PCR) diagnostic testing
- Specialised molecular assay development
- Animal genetic profiling, parentage and mutation screening
- Genomic analysis of parasites
For more information, visit www.clinvet.com
Klifovet
Website: http://www.klifovet.com
KLIFOVET provides high quality services for the animal health and animal nutrition industry regarding the registration and marketing of all kind of veterinary products. We support ambitious young biotech and veterinary pharma companies on their way to the top by providing full business and product development management, regulatory affairs consultancy including dossier writing, compilation and submission, and full CRO services for safety and efficacy studies. We are proud on 18 years of experience, well organized logistics, a highly motivated team, and a comprehensive net of co-operators and skilled investigators throughout Europe, North America and the world. We handle large multinational projects as professionally as national ones, complying to national, EMA, EFSA or FDA standards.
Media Partner
FierceBiotech
Website: http://www.fiercebiotech.com
Read the latest biotechnology articles on biotech industry leaders, emerging biotech companies, FDA decisions, VC deals, and other biotech industry news.
FierceBiotech and its family of publications provide end-to-end coverage of biotech and medtech, from pre-clinical science through clinical testing and regulatory approval—and all the seed funding, venture capital, licensing deals, IPOs and M&A that happen along the way.
We track tiny, virtual startups and the biggest of Big Pharma, highlighting the accomplishments and acknowledging the defeats that all of them experience on their way to market with a new therapy or device.
The FierceBiotech team transcends the daily as well, with comprehensive coverage of key medical meetings plus special reports that highlight up-and-comers and shed new light on industry heavyweights.
Agenda
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Headline speakers include:
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Venue
Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor, Boston, MA
Venue: Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor
Address: 101 Harborside Drive, Boston, MA 02128
We have arranged a discounted room rate for all event attendees of $239 per night, exclusive of taxes
To make your reservations, please click here
If you need additional assistance, please contact the hotel Reservation Department on +1 877-803-7534 or click here to find contact information by Region.
Please book by 9th March 2019 - after this rates are subject to availability.
If the group rate is no longer available, prevailing rates may be offered for some or all of your dates.
Conference Packages
Sending Your Team? Group Discounts Available!
Applicable for Primary Market, Service Provider and Industry Rates Only. Not available for Academic or ‘Start-Up’ rates
Book a Team of 3+ - Save an Additional 10% Off
Book a Team of 5+ - Save an Additional 15% Off
If you would like to register a team of 3 or more, please email [email protected] for your discount coupon code before registering. PLEASE NOTE: Discounts cannot be combined with Early Bird Pricing or any other discount or offer. If you have any questions about your registration, please call us on +44 (0)20 3696 2920
Book a Team to Save More!
Book a Team of 3+ - Save an Additional 10% Off
Book a Team of 5+ - Save an Additional 15% Off
Payment Terms for Animal Health Investment Europe:
- Please note that a $79 processing fee will apply to any invoices requested.
- Any questions about your registration, please call +44 (0)20 3696 2920 or email us at [email protected].
- All Prices are in USD
- All Early Bird discount prices, including Group Discounts, must be paid in full by deadlines provided above.
- No discounts or offers can be combined.
- Those offering consultancy or market intelligence services do not qualify for the Start-Up rate.
- PLEASE NOTE – no additional discounts are available on ‘Start-up Company’ pricing. Group discounts are ONLY available on ‘Delegate’ pricing.
- You can view our Cancellation Policy here.
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Find out more by calling us at +44 (0)20 3696 2920 or email us at [email protected].
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