Annual IATI Biomed Conference Shares Israeli Life Science Innovations

Summary: The 15th annual IATI Biomed Conference shares Israeli life science innovations via a new nine-track format from May 24 to May 26.

The 2016 conference's welcome letter notes global participation from over 45 countries: The Times of Israel @TimesofIsrael, via Twitter March 10, 2016

The 15th annual IATI Biomed Conference, scheduled for May 24 to 26, 2016, in Tel Aviv, shares Israeli life science innovations with global participants from over 45 countries.

The 2016 conference features a new, nine-track format that covers such trending specialty areas as gene editing and therapy, immuno-oncology, robotics’ role in healthcare, and biotech and life science startups. Three parallel tracks are scheduled for each day. The conference offers an array of presentation styles, including company presentations, lectures, panel presentations, product demonstrations and roundtable discussions.

“It’s a new format for conferences like this, but we think industry members, as well as the many visitors from abroad, will find it easier to work with, as it will give them a greater opportunity to engage with the areas they are specifically interested in,” conference co-chairperson Ruti Alon explains March 10, 2016, in Israeli startups and technology reporter David Shamah’s online article in the Times of Israel.

Keynote lectures open each day’s programs. Patrick Terry, president of GMPO-Orphan, a Paris-based orphan, or rare, disease pharmaceutical developer, gives the opening keynote lecture Tuesday, May 24. Francois Maisonrouge, senior managing director at Evercore Partners, a New York City-based investment banking advisory firm, follows with the day’s keynote lecture. On Wednesday, May 25, the keynote speaker is Bruce R. Rosengard, chief medical science and technology officer at New Jersey-based Johnson and Johnson Medical Device Companies. Avi Hasson, chief scientist of Israel’s Ministry of Economy, briefly addresses the conference on the third and final day, Thursday, May 26. Patrick Figgis, global leader for health industries at London-headquartered PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Global Healthcare, and Deborah DiSanzo, general manager at Cambridge, Massachusetts-based IBM Watson Health, deliver Thursday’s keynote lectures.

Numbers reveal the conference’s successful achievement of its annual mission of spotlighting the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative developments that characterize Israel’s biotech and life science sectors.

“Our previous successful conferences have hosted over 6,000 industry senior executives, scientists, and engineers, including approximately 1,000 participants from over 45 countries and in excess of 4500 one-on-one meetings,” notes the 2016 conference’s welcome letter.

The conference’s exhibition component spotlights Israel’s abundant biotech and life science startups in the Startup Area. Biotech and life science startups thrive in Israel. According to the conference’s co-organizer, Israeli Advanced Technology Industries (IATI), Israel’s active life science companies tally at about 1,380. Sixty-six percent of these startups are under a decade old. Israel has averaged 98 new life science startups over the last 7 years.

“Research in Israel is present in between 25% and 28% of the world’s successful biotech-based solutions,” Alon notes. “Many of the patents in pharmaceuticals that are now being used to treat cancer, heart problems, and much more were developed at Israeli institutions like Hebrew University or the Weizmann Institute."

Examples cited by Alon include pharmaceuticals that serve as primary prescriptions for some of the world’s most debilitating diseases. Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel’s Center District city of Rehovot is credited with developing Copaxone for treatment of multiple sclerosis. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, headquartered in the Center District city of Petah Tikva, markets Copaxone. Collaborative research in Jerusalem at Hadassah Medical Center and Hebrew University is responsible for Doxil. Johnson and Johnson, headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, markets Doxil for treatment of a number of cancers.

As general partner at Pitango, Alon is involved in Israel’s leading venture capital fund. Pitango also is Israel’s top investor in the Israeli life science sector. Innovative life science firms in Pitango’s portfolio include BioLineRX, Modi’in-based pharmaceutical developers, and Medinol Ltd., Tel Aviv-based interventional cardiology pioneers.

Ruti Alon co-founded the conference with interventional pediatric cardiologist Benny Zeevi, who also is a managing general partner in Tel Aviv Venture Partners. The IATI-Biomed Conference is designed specifically as a forum for globally introducing Israeli biotech and life science innovations. Israeli Advanced Technology Industries (IATI) operates as the umbrella organization for Israel’s life science and high-tech industries.

“Having been involved in life science investments for many years, I realized the value of what we have here, but finding ways to get the rest of the world to realize it proved challenging,” explains Alon. “So we organized the conference in order to create a ‘business card’ for the Israel biotech and life science industries.”

The 15th annual IATI-Biomed Conference takes place at David InterContinental Hotel in Tel Aviv from Tuesday, May 24, to Thursday, 26, 2016.

Israeli Advanced Technology (IATI) Biomed 2016 Conference takes place May 24–May 26 in Tel Aviv: IATI‏ @IATI_Israel, via Twitter March 3, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The 2016 conference's welcome letter notes global participation from over 45 countries: The Times of Israel @TimesofIsrael, via Twitter tweet of March 10, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/TimesofIsrael/status/707961432013279233

Israeli Advanced Technology (IATI) Biomed 2016 Conference takes place May 24-May 26 in Tel Aviv: IATI @IATI_Israel, via Twitter March 3, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/IATI_Israel/status/705316132568342528

For further information:

Alon, Ruti, and Dr. Benny Zeevi. “Welcome Letter.” IATI Biomed 2016.
Available @ http://kenes-exhibitions.com/biomed2016/welcome-letter/

IATI‏ @IATI_Israel. "Call for #startups! Register to the StartUp Pavillion till March 22, 2016." Twitter. March 3, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/IATI_Israel/status/705316132568342528

Shamah, David. “One in four life science innovations has Israeli roots, says expert.” Times of Israel. March 10, 2016.
Available @ http://www.timesofisrael.com/one-in-four-life-science-innovations-has-israeli-roots-says-expert/

The Times of Israel @TimesofIsrael. "One in four life science innovations has Israeli roots, says expert." Twitter. March 10, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/TimesofIsrael/status/707961432013279233