The Galien Foundation Announces Final Program for Sixth Annual Galien Forum on Biomedicines Innovation October 27

Nobel Prize winners, biopharmaceutical CEOs and policy experts lead full-day discussion at the Alexandria Center for Life Sciences on next wave treatments for major global disease threats

News provided by

The Galien Foundation

Sep 09, 2015, 09:59 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Galien Foundation announced today the final program of presenters and panels for the sixth annual Galien Forum, scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, at the Alexandria Center for Life Sciences in New York City.

The Galien Forum, held in conjunction with the prestigious Prix Galien Awards Ceremony for excellence in the development of innovative drugs, vaccines and medical devices, features expert roundtable debates on key current issues in medical science, technology and policy and their impact on the progress of human health worldwide.

The Forum is widely recognized for its distinctive role in bringing leading academic scientists, industry, government policy-makers, professional associations and patient advocates together to find common ground in maintaining public support for cures and treatments that advance the standard of care against serious, life-threatening diseases. Events have stimulated interactions to improve drug approval standards and accelerated private-sector engagement in international humanitarian agency efforts to combat HIV/AIDs and other infectious diseases. Each Forum event attracts several hundred participants drawn from a truly unique and diverse range of disciplines.

This year's Forum will focus on the theme "Bioscience for Human Progress: Next Wave Treatments for Unmet Medical Needs." The Forum's Advisory Committee, whose 9 members include 4 Nobel laureates as well as the heads of several major scientific research institutions, has selected a keynote speaker. The event will also include more than 35 leaders and experts divided among seven panels looking at exciting new developments in medicines research.

The keynote luncheon speaker is Dr. Jeff Gordon, Director of the Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. A leading biologist and futurist, Gordon will discuss the potential of research on the human microbiome, which is providing us with new views of the microbial foundations for our health and disease risks, as well as new therapeutic targets in treating a wide range of conditions. The workshop panels will address the following topics:

New product applications from Bioengineering, which focuses on novel, often non-drug platforms to tackle illnesses, in a more targeted manner than conventional small molecules, co-chaired by the award-winning science entrepreneur, Professor Robert Langer of MIT, and Stephen Oesterle, Senior Vice-President , Medtronic;
A forward look at progress in unraveling the mysteries behind Autism, chaired by Joel Marcus, Chairman and CEO of Alexandria Real Estate Equities;
Mapping the potential for harnessing Microbiota in human diseases, chaired by Dr. Laurie Glimcher, Dean of Weill-Cornell Medical College;
How Gene Therapy will produce better outcomes for patients and the incentives required to enhance its potential in the treatment space, chaired by Rockefeller University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne;
State of research in addressing the increased medical and societal burden of neurodegenerative diseases, chaired by Nobelist Dr. Richard Axel of Columbia University; and
Latest innovations in pharmacology and medical devices to confront the crisis in heart failure, a leading cause of death worldwide, chaired by Nobelist and former Karolinska Institute President Dr. Bengt Samuelsson.

On the policy front, the Forum will also host an interactive CEO panel, US Health Reform: Partnering, Pricing and Politics, led by Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, Chair of the Prix Galien USA Awards Committee, former CEO of Merck & Co., Inc. and current Chairman of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Others on the panel include Merck & Co., Inc. Chairman and CEO Kenneth Frazier; Glen Steele, Chairman of xG Health Solutions and former CEO, Geisinger Health System; Jonathan Sheldon, Global Vice President of Healthcare, Oracle Health Sciences; and Nancy-Ann DeParle, Partner, Consonance Health Partners and former Deputy Chief of Staff for health policy in the Obama Administration.

"Now in its sixth year, the Galien Forum provides participants with a truly unique perspective combining a rigorous, substantive dialogue around discovery science with a broader public policy dimension designed to ensure that science is successfully transformed into medicines that save lives," says Galien Foundation Chairman Bruno Cohen. "By addressing the state of medicines innovation, we drive our Foundation's mandate, which is to improve the health – the state of care – for patients worldwide."

Dr. Vagelos, Chair of the Prix Galien USA Awards Committee, noted "The Forum is a practical complement to the work of our Committee in recognizing the best innovations in products and technologies developed through private-sector initiative in medicines research. This year's Awards Ceremony has attracted a record number of new company applicants for recognition by the Committee, covering the best work in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices. What we intend to do at the Forum is emphasize the importance of policies that, through the encouragement of partnering, appropriate regulation and investments in cutting-edge research, will produce more such results in the future. In this effort, the patient is the winner."

"By focusing the national spotlight on innovation and progress in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries, the Galien Forum is a truly world-class event. It blends powerful insight and discussion among the thought leaders fueling innovation in these fields," said Steve Rosenberg, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Oracle Health Sciences. "Oracle is honored to continue our long-standing participation in and sponsorship of the Forum and Prix Galien USA Awards Ceremony."

Full program and registration instructions for the October 27^th Forum can be found at http://galienfoundation.org/en/website/event/detail/45MR1XZS.

This year, follow and engage in the discussion on social media with #PrixGalien and by following the Galien Foundation on Twitter @GalienFdn, on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About the Galien Foundation

The mission of the non-profit Galien Foundation is to serve as a vehicle for the open exchange of ideas that drive science and new innovations in medicines, vaccines and medical devices. It operates as a global network. Two leading private sector institutions – Alexandria Real Estate Equities and Oracle Corp. – are committed to our goals in the life sciences and have been supporters of the Galien Foundation since the inception of the Galien Forum in 2010.

The 1986 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Dr. Elie Wiesel is the Honorary Member of the Foundation.

Follow the latest Galien Foundation discussion on social media:

About the Prix Galien USA

The Prix Galien, created in 1970 in France by French pharmacist Roland Mehl, is regarded worldwide as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in biopharmaceutical research. In the USA, recent recipients of the Awards include Coartem, [Novartis, 2010; Prevnar 13 [Pfizer, 2011], Stelara, [Janssen, 2011]; Yervoy, [BMS, 2012]; Victrelis, [Merck & Co., 2012]; Zelboraf, [Genentech, 2013]; Sovaldi, [Gilead Sciences, 2014 ]; Trevo ProVue, [Stryker, 2014].

Recipients of the Awards are selected independently of commercial or political interests by a preeminent scientific learned committee chaired by Dr. P. Roy Vagelos that includes four Nobel laureates.

Trademarks

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Further information:
The Galien Foundation
99 John Street
Suite 2502
New York, NY 10038
212-685-1592
www.galienfoundation.org

Media Contact:
Lee Davies, Makovsky & Co. [email protected]

Social Media Inquiries:
FTI Consulting, [email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150908/264751LOGO

SOURCE The Galien Foundation