The Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University has organized an unprecedented summit that will bring some of the world's top bioscience companies with innovative scientists, entrepreneurs, and some of the nation's leading universities to explore the next generation of biomedical solutions that may lead to groundbreaking discoveries in medicine. "Life Sciences Summit 2009 Showcasing Innovation, Promoting Collaboration," will take place on September 23-24, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Long Island in Hauppauge, New York.

Approximately 125 speakers will present at the Summit, including sessions led by pharmaceutical company CEOs, venture capitalists, and leading physicians and researchers specializing in areas such as cardiovascular medicine, oncology, regenerative medicine, and neurosciences.

"The challenges in biomedicine are daunting, but the opportunities are infinite. Together, as academia and the bioscience industry joint forces, new discoveries new diagnostics and new treatments are on the horizon," says Samuel J. Stanley, Jr., M.D., President, Stony Brook University, who will present the opening remarks at the Summit.

The event marks 25 years of scientific innovation through the Center for Biotechnology at SBU. The Center has contributed to the development of more than a dozen commercially available biomedical products that have advanced medicine and improved human health with cumulative sales approaching $1 billion. Such products include Periostat, the only systemically administered Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for the treatment of periodontal disease; BasicMint, a novel anti-cavity agent, and ReoPro, a drug that prevents platelets from sticking together and causing blood clots following coronary angioplasty.

John Maraganore, Ph.D, Chief Executive Officer of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Maraganore will address the more than 500 key industry executives, academic scientists, entrepreneurs, and early stage investors on the importance of innovation to the future of the industry. As CEO of Alnylam, Dr. Maraganore has become one of the most influential figures in biotechnology. Under his leadership, Alnylam is pioneering a new field of biology that has the potential to truly revolutionize medicine, all while fueling the company's growth through collaborations that have brought more than $660 million in realized funding to Alnylam.

In addition to Dr. Maraganore's keynote address, the Summit will feature diagnostics and therapeutic roundtables, industry relevant workshops, a Partnering Forum, technology showcases and provocative plenary sessions. The two-day format features a national scope of interest and will detail commercially promising breakthrough science, new technologies that will become next generation products, and emerging new companies that will shape the future of human healthcare. The formal program will be augmented by an online partnering system that will allow meeting participants to search for interesting opportunities and schedule meetings with each other throughout the event.

Proceeds from the Summit 2009 help seed a bio-innovation research fund to support the discovery, development, translation, and commercialization of the next generation biomedical technologies.

About the Summit Organizer

The Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University is a cooperative research and development partnership between universities, private industry and New York State. The Center's technology development initiative has contributed to an active pipeline of more than forty commercially promising technologies, the commercialization of more than a dozen novel biomedical products, and the formation of 18 new bioscience companies.

The Center is a leader in New York State's bioscience agenda and participates in organizations that provide a framework to growing the State's bioscience industry. The Center was instrumental in the founding of the Long Island High Technology Incubator, the New York Biotechnology Association, the Long Island Life Sciences Initiative, and the New York Bioscience Council. It is funded by the New York Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR).

Source: Stony Brook University Medical Center

View drug information on Periostat; ReoPro.