CED Announces First Confirmed Speakers for the CED Life Science Conference 2016

DURHAM, NC – December 4, 2015 – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) today announced the first round of confirmed speakers for the 25th annual CED Life Science Conference (March 1-2, 2016 in Raleigh, NC). Confirmed speakers include global leaders in research, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical device, and capital formation. As one of the leading life science gatherings in the nation, the CED Life Science Conference attracts over 1,000 participants each year including entrepreneurs, industry leaders, investors, researchers, and professional service firms.

“In the 25th year of hosting the CED Life Science Conference, we will be showcasing more entrepreneurs, drawing more investors, and providing more networking opportunities than ever before,” said Joan Siefert Rose, President & CEO of CED. “We are also excited that the speaker lineup already includes some of the biggest names in life science today.”

Speakers confirmed to appear at the CED Life Science Conference 2016 include:

  • Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., M.P.H., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of CVS Health
    In his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of CVS Health, Troyen A. Brennan has responsibility for CVS Health’s health care and wellness programs. Previously, he was Chief Medical Officer of Aetna Inc. Prior to that, Dr. Brennan served as President of the Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization. In his academic work, he was Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Law and Public Health at Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Brennan received his M.D. and M.P.H. degrees from Yale Medical School and J.D. degree from Yale Law School.
     
  • Bobby Franklin, President & CEO of the National Venture Capital Association
    Bobby Franklin is the President & CEO of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) whose membership includes thousands of individuals that invest in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and guide the formation and growth of innovative startup companies. In his role, Franklin leads and oversees the strategic direction of the nearly 400-member association on behalf of U.S. venture capitalists and the startup ecosystem.
     
  • Bob Hugin, Chairman and CEO of Celgene Corporation
    Bob Hugin serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Celgene Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for unmet medical needs in cancer and immune-inflammatory disease. Mr. Hugin is past Chairman of the Board of The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University, The Medicines Company, and The Darden Foundation, University of Virginia. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Atlantic Health System and of Family Promise, a national non-profit network assisting homeless families. Prior to joining Celgene, Mr. Hugin was a Managing Director with J.P. Morgan & Co. Inc. Mr. Hugin received an AB degree from Princeton University in 1976 and an MBA from the University of Virginia in 1985.
     
  • Richard E. Kuntz, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific, Clinical, and Regulatory Officer of Medtronic, Inc.
    Dr. Rick Kuntz is Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific, Clinical, and Regulatory Officer of Medtronic, Inc. and serves as a member of the Company’s Executive Committee. In this role, which he assumed in August 2009, Kuntz oversees the company’s global regulatory affairs, health policy and reimbursement, clinical research activities, and corporate technology. Kuntz joined Medtronic in October 2005, as Senior Vice President and President of Medtronic Neuromodulation, which encompasses the company’s products and therapies used in the treatment of chronic pain, movement disorders, spasticity, overactive bladder and urinary retention, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and gastroparesis. Prior to Medtronic he was the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute (HCRI), a university-based contract research organization which coordinates National Institutes of Health (NIH) and industry clinical trials with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
     
  • Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D., The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2012; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Duke University Medical Center
    Dr. Lefkowitz began his research career in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, when there was no clear consensus that receptors as conceived of by pharmacologists even existed. His group spent 15 years developing techniques for radioligand binding, solubilization, purification, and reconstitution of the four adrenergic receptors known at the time. In 1986, Dr. Lefkowitz transformed the understanding of what had become known as G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Since then, Dr. Lefkowitz has continued to revolutionize the GPCR field. In 2007 he founded Trevena Inc., located in Philadelphia, to develop novel biased drugs targeting GPCRs. Most recently, he has been applying the tools of structural biology to understand biased signaling at atomic level resolution. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the National Medal of Science, the Shaw Prize, the Albany Prize, and the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was elected to the USA National Academy of Sciences in 1988, the Institute of Medicine in 1994, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1988
     
  • Jeffrey Pollard, M.D., Director of Medical Affairs at 23andMe
    As 23andMe’s Director of Medical Affairs, Dr. Jeffrey Pollard is primarily responsible for maintaining the clinical integrity of the 23andMe service. In addition, Dr. Pollard helps to advance the integration of personal genomics into the modern medical environment through educational initiatives and strategic engagement with integral members of the healthcare system. He has over a decade of hands-on clinical experience including owning and operating a multi-center medical practice and serving as a regional educator for the pharmaceutical company Allergan. Dr. Pollard is a double board-certified physician and surgeon with a B.S. in Health Psychology from Duke University and M.D. from Vanderbilt University.

Keynote speaker Bob Hugin, Chairman and CEO of Celgene Corporation, said, “Life sciences innovation is essential to improving patients’ lives, strengthening healthcare systems and accelerating economic growth. We are at an inflection point in biomedical research, with many exciting recent breakthroughs creating the promise of even greater future advances. Patients today and patients tomorrow are counting on us to foster an environment that supports continued innovation and ensures broad patient access to transformational therapies.”

Early Bird registration rates are available through December 31 and offer a savings of up to $100. To register, visit cednc.org/lsc. As always, CED members receive the best rates. For more information on becoming a member, please visit cednc.org/get-involved/join.

More speakers and panel participants will be announced soon. To stay up to date on new conference announcements, please sign up for CED’s free newsletter at cednc.org/contact.

“The CED Life Science Conference is the number one event local to the Research Triangle for life science up-to-date learning and ideas for capital formation,” said Fred McCoy, President and CEO of NeuroTronik, a 2015 Showcase Company. “It’s the gathering of our community, not to be missed.”

The CED Life Science Conference 2016 will cover the latest developments and trends transforming the life science landscape and will feature emerging companies from multiple industry sectors: pharma/biotech, medtech, diagnostics, and agtech. The conference is presented in partnership with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and the North Carolina Biosciences Organization.

For more information and to register for the conference, please visit http://www.cednc.org/lsc

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