Tech Watch: Tech Biomed Conference puts spotlight on economic crisis

The ILSI-Biomed Israel Conference showcases the major technological innovations and developments in the life-sciences industry.

By MATTHEW KRIEGER
hi tech 248.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
hi tech 248.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
This week, TechWatch takes an in-depth look at one of the country's most important and respected annual events, the ILSI-Biomed Israel Conference. Since its founding almost a decade ago, the conference has grown in stature and is today one of the biotech industry's best attended conferences, with speakers and participants from all over the globe. Each year, the ILSI-Biomed Israel Conference showcases the major technological innovations and developments in the life-sciences industry. This year's conference, to be held from June 15-17 in Tel Aviv, will directly address the challenges faced by the biomedical industry in light of the current economic crisis and a rapidly changing market environment, as well as outline the opportunities and risks facing the global biomedical industry. Building on the success of last year's conference, ILSI-Biomed 2009 will provide significant exposure for some 70 Israeli start-up companies, who will be able to demonstrate their technology to the more than 6,000 expected visitors and guests from abroad. Expected participants include general managers and executives from bio-pharma and medical-equipment corporations, scientists and researchers, entrepreneurs, opinion leaders, VC funds and private investors. ILSI-Biomed Israel is the leading international conference covering the fast-growing field of innovation in the biomedical, health-care and life-sciences industries. The lectures and panels at the conference will provide insightful outlooks on biomedical opportunities, including discussions such as medical technological in a time of economic turmoil, investment strategy in a time of crisis, facing the change of regulation and legislation in the US markets, impact of new FDA regulation on development of new medical devices and cardiovascular therapies in 2020. International experts, scientists, academics and researchers in the biomedical field will be participating in the conference, including: Dr. Karin Hehenberger, Johnson & Johnson's vice president of metabolics strategy; Richard J. Meelia, chairman, president and CEO of Covidien Ltd.; Dan Mendelson, president and founder of Avalere Health; Dr. Joseph M. Smith, Johnson & Johnson's vice president of emerging technologies corporate office of science and technology; and a number of team leaders and directors from the US Food and Drug Administration and other prominent members of the international biomedical industry. In conjunction with the ILSI-Biomed Conference, the third International Stem Cells Meeting will be taking place at the site of the conference. This year's meeting will focus on the biology and clinical application of stem cells. The conference is a joint venture between the Israel Life Sciences Industry (ILSI) and Kenes International. The ILSI is composed of medical-device, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical-service companies, universities and private research institutions, and industry service providers aiming to research, develop and advocate policies and actions that promote biomedical science, biotechnology and medical-device innovation in Israel. Kenes International, the founding organization of the Biomed Conference, is a leader in the field of global-congress organization and association management services. The chairpersons of the organizing committee are Ruti Alon and Israel Makov. Alon is a general partner of Herzliya-based Pitango Venture Capital Fund and chair and founder of the Israel Life Science Industry Association, a nonprofit registered corporation, representing the mutual goals of the Israeli life-science community. In addition to chairing the ILSI, she also sits on the boards of some of Israel's leading biotech and life-sciences companies, including Bioline RX, BrainsGate, D-Pharm, Transpharma, Beta-02, HealOr and Biocontrol Medical. Makov is the former president and CEO of Teva and currently chairman of Yokneam-based Given Imaging. mattkrieger@gmail.com