In 1977, Dr. Mamphela Rampele -- a physician and anti-apartheid activist -- was banished by the South African government to the town of Tazneen for speaking out against the government.  She remained there until 1984.  Despite personal struggles, she emerged from the experience continuing her work in health care and eventually serving as one of the four managing directors of the World Bank.  Earlier this year, the South African government -- responsible for her internment only decades earlier --  named her the chair of the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), a group that is tasked with developing the technology sector of the country's economy, with a particular focus on building the biopharmaceutical industry.
 
On Monday, May 3^rd, Dr. Ramphele will join us at the 2010 Partnering for Global Health Forum to talk more about how the TIA intends to build the biopharmaceutical industry.  She is just one of the speakers at the Forum, representing a long list of panelists whose experiences will contribute to engaging and provocative discussions throughout the day.
 
The governments of India and China will also be present to explore how their countries are growing their domestic biopharmaceutical industries, as well as how they are working with foreign companies entering their markets.  Invitations are extended to both Dr. M.K. Bahn, Secretary of the Ministry of Biotechnology, Government of India, and Dr. Zhu Chen, Minister of Health, China, who have both indicated they will likely attend.

 

We have assembled a group of biopharmaceutical executives to debate incentives and analyze how different models could be the key in engaging more companies in neglected diseases. In a panel moderated by Hannah Kettler, Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the speakers, including George Scangos, CEO, Exelixis; Vijay Samant, CEO, Vical; and John Thomson, Vice President of Strategic R&D Networks, Vertex Pharmaceuticals will share with us their thoughts on what it takes to get companies involved in global health product development, given the current landscape and ever-evolving global markets.

 

Public/private partnerships will also be highlighted. During this session, panelists will compare effective business models and reveal how strategic partnerships can offer value that aligns with the partners' commercial strategies.  The first public/private partnership that will be discussed is aimed at the development of a new drug for Human African Trypanosomiasis and was featured in the BIO Ventures for Global Health publication Global Health Innovators: A Collection of Case Studies. It will feature David Perry, CEO, Anacor; Yves Ribeill, CEO, Scynexis; and Jean-Pierre Paccaud, Vice President of Business Development, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative.  Lisa Conte, CEO, Napo Pharmaceuticals, and Achin Gupta, Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals will share information about a second public/private partnership.  This second partnership will be featured in an upcoming BIO Ventures for Global Health case study report.

 

At another panel, speakers Mark Feinberg, Vice President of Medical Affairs, Merck Vaccines; David Cook, COO, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; Margaret Anderson, Executive Director, Faster Cures; and Paul Klingenstein, Managing Partner, Aberdare Ventures will discuss how neglected disease drug development traverses the "valley of death" despite the lack of commercial drivers that exist for developed world diseases.  

 

On Tuesday, May 4th, we'll move from a large scale meeting to one-on-one discussions in the BIO Business Forum, where executives will meet to discuss potential partnerships and how to begin to put the ideas of the previous day into action.  We will also hear from public sector funders on their organization's strategic priorities, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH, and WHO TDR.  Funder presentations will take place between 2 and 5pm.  Visit the Partnering for Global Health Web site - pgh.bio.org - for a full list.

 

For more information -- including the full program -- or to register, please visit pgh.bio.org.