Skip to main content
User Name Password

 

November 19, 2008 | Boston
CEN Boston: Opportunity from Crisis; Life Sciences Entrepreneurship

Opportunity from Crisis; Life Sciences Entrepreneurship

featuring Andy Firlik '90, General Partner of Foundation Medical Partners; Robert Langer '70, Professor, Chemical & Biomed Engineering at MIT Department of Chemical Engineering and Craig Wheeler '82, President & CEO of Momenta Pharmaceuticals, moderated by Sam Fleming '62, CEO, Briland LLC.

                    

The last time we featured Bob Langer in Boston with CEN, the event sold out in a heart beat, we're back with more room and more rock star life sciences professionals.

If history is any guide, the current economic crisis will provide entrepreneurs new opportunities while others have called it a day. What you knew yesterday has changed. The pace of innovation, from the phases of development, and the capital and liquidity events that fuel it all, now, have new rules.

(Some) businesses will still grow, (some) entrepreneurs will still strike it rich, (some) stocks will still explode, but which and why?

This event will offer sage advice from a collection of business people that have been through many financial cycles.
Our discussion will not be a presentation. Instead, a panel of alumni leaders experienced in each phase of life sciences entrepreneurship; the lab, the start-up, and highly successful private-and publicly-owned companies, will share their views as to why fundamental value is created in life sciences.
Please join our discussion. Bring an open mind, and get ready to take a lot of notes. This is a terrific opportunity for investors, employees, and anyone who simply wants to understand the life sciences industry better or entrepreneurship in general.

Robert Langer is one of 13 Institute Professors (the highest honor awarded to a faculty member) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  Dr. Langer has written approximately 1,000 articles.  He also has more than 600 issued or pending patents worldwide.  Dr. Langer’s patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 200 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical device companies. 

Dr. Firlik's career spans neurosurgery, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. He joined Foundation Medical Partners to concentrate on medical device and biopharmaceutical investments.

Craig Wheeler was previously President of Chiron BioPharmaceuticals, the biotechnology division of Chiron Corporation, which manufactured and distributed products treating cancer, cystic fibrosis, and multiple sclerosis. During his tenure, global sales in the division doubled to over $600 million, five new programs were put into clinical development, and a new product was launched. Prior to joining Chiron, Mr. Wheeler served as a partner at The Boston Consulting Group in the firm’s healthcare practice.   

Sam Fleming is CEO of Briland LLC which specializes in health care investments. He is chairman emeritus of Decision Resources, Inc., the leading global provider of strategic information to the biopharmaceutical, medical device, and health insurance industries. He founded the firm and served as its CEO through 2003 when the firm was acquired by private equity investors. Sam is a Vice Chairman of the Cornell Board of Trustees and chairs the Cornell Alumni Life Science Advisory Board. 

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Registration and Networking Reception
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Discussion/Q&A/Open Mike
8:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Continued Networking

Location: Le Méridien Cambridge, 20 Sidney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 - Robert B. Taylor Room

Cost: $30 per person; Includes heavy appetizers, networking, presentations

***We are pleased to announce that Cornell’s new Provost on January 1st, 2009, W. Kent Fuchs, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering at Cornell since 2002 will attend this event and begin the discussion!