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More than 400 people attended the Ninth Annual Southeastern BIO Investor Forum on November 7th-8th in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The Forum is the Southeast’s premier life sciences venture capital conference. “The success of this year's Forum is a testament to SEBIO's significant role in transforming the Southeast into a major center for life sciences and new company formation,” said Phillip Street, Chair of SEBIO and Chair of Kilpatrick Stockton's Health & Life Sciences Team. “SEBIO will harness the energy and momentum created by the Forum’s large attendance, including a significant number of leading investors and high-quality venture capital funds. We look forward to working with industry leaders as we create opportunities to continue the fast-growth of life sciences in the Southeast.” The Investor Forum offered something for everyone: an early-stage event which profiled the best new initial investment opportunities in the region; a presenting company event which showcased companies in the region that have already completed at least one round of institutional financing; and the BIO/Plan competition, which brought forward the most promising new technologies from the region's research organizations. The early-stage event allowed participants to introduce their companies to selected advisory teams, which then chose the four best to participate in the Early-Stage Shootout. During the Early-Stage Shootout, the companies had the opportunity to present to the entire conference including a panel of celebrity judges. The selected participants of the Early-Stage Shootout were: First String, Inc. (Charleston, SC), Optima Neuroscience, Inc. (Gainesville, FL), Transgeneron Therapeutics, Inc. (Gainesville, FL) and Visioneering Corporation (Roswell, GA). The winner of the Early-Stage Shootout, among the Forum's most popular events, was Transgeneron Therapeutics, Inc. (Gainesville, FL). The company is a spin-out of the University of Florida, with aims to exploit the biology of in vivo transdifferentiation to regenerate ischemic or diseased organs. Transgeneron is commercializing recombinant transcription factors that induce transdifferentiation and regeneration of tissues and organs by reprogramming existing healthy cells. The winner was determined by a panel of celebrity judges, made up of venture capitalists and representatives of big pharma and biotech. “The 2007 Investor Forum was successful in connecting emerging life science companies with potential investors in a manner that provided meaningful networking opportunities,” notes SEBIO 2007 Investor Forum Co-Chair Garheng Kong of Intersouth Partners. Cat Lineberry of Constella Group, the other Co-Chair along with Fred Hutchison of Hutchison Law Group, added “We anticipate a significant increase in deal flow over the next year as a result of the Forum.” The two day event explored research, market, and financing trends with nationally recognized leaders from the investment and bioscience industries. Participants included biotechnology executives, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investment bankers and other industry professionals. The conference’s opening keynote panel session, “What Emerging Companies Want to Know,” featured business development leaders from the big pharma, big biotech and medical device industries, including Rick Anderson, Company Group Chairman, Johnson & Johnson and Worldwide Franchise Chairman, Cordis Corporation; Leslie Boyd, Vice President of Scientific Licensing, GlaxoSmithKline; Edward T. Mathers, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Venture, MedImmune; and Kenneth Lee, General Partner, Hatteras Venture Partners as the Moderator. The panel provided insight into the culture and objectives for growth in larger companies, with an emphasis on the role of partnerships and other arrangements with emerging companies. Matthew Emmens, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Committee at Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc, a conference keynote speaker, closed the conference with a discussion of “Global Biopharmaceutical Companies: The Challenges Ahead”. Mr. Emmens presented a brief synopsis of Shire and how it has evolved over the last twenty years through mergers, acquisitions and in-licensing and shared his views on the challenges that lie ahead as well as the various opportunities available for growth. The 2008 Southeastern BIO Investor Forum will be held December 4-5, 2008, at the Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, FL. Further details will be posted on the SEBIO web site soon. About Southeast BIO Southeast BIO (SEBIO) is a regional nonprofit organization that fosters the growth of the life sciences industry in the Southeastern U.S. through efforts that promote entrepreneurship and bring together companies, investors, universities, and support organizations active in the development of the industry. Today, the Southeast is recognized as one of the fastest growing life sciences regions in the U.S. and home to more than 220 life sciences companies. A public/private partnership formed in 1999, SEBIO is committed to conducting activities that create regional leverage and facilitate the common interests and goals of constituents in the life sciences industry. The geographic footprint of SEBIO presently includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia
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