About

This invitation-only event is free for executive level biotech leaders and is presented by BioHealth Innovation, VirginiaBio, Children’s National Health System,  Maryland Tech Council, Hemoshear Therapeutics, Maryland Department of Commerce, Quality Biologics Johns Hopkins University, University System of Maryland and AstraZeneca. Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC set the bar high for biotech innovation. So please join us for our Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum that will highlight the accomplishments of today and chart our successes of tomorrow.

We are excited to bring you an exceptional line up of speakers. The program will feature sessions that focus on the Advancing Science and Accelerating Innovation.

2019 Agenda

8:00 AM: Arrival

Registration, Breakfast & Networking

9:00 AM: Welcoming Remarks

Special Remarks:
Kelly M. Schulz, Secretary, Maryland Department of Commerce

Hosts:
Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation
Jeff Gallagher, CEO, VirginiaBio

9:20 AM: State of the Ecosystem

Speaker:
Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation

9:30 AM: Interview with Alex Philippidis

Speaker:
Alex Philippidis, Editor, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Interviewed by:
Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation

10:00 AM: San Fransisco vs. The BHCR

Speaker:
Jeffrey Galvin, CEO & Founder, American Gene Technologies

10:10 AM: Networking Break

10:50 AM: In Conversation: Growth Opportunities in the BioHealth Capital Region

Moderator:
John Trainer, Vice President & Head, Partnering & Strategy, AstraZeneca

Panelists:
Srujana Cherukuri, CEO, Noble Life Sciences
Jack Khattar, President, CEO & Director, Supernus Pharmaceuticals
Robert G. Kramer, Chief Executive Officer, Emergent BioSolutions

11:25 AM: New Tools in Therapeutics

Moderator:
W. Ripley Ballou, MD, Vice President & Head, Global Vaccines US R&D Center, GSK

Panelists:
David LaFleur, Arcellx, Inc.
Brad Calvin, VP of Commercial Operation, MaxCyte
Cohava Gelber, Executive Chairperson, Serpin Pharma
Renée A. Hart, President & Chief Business Officer, LumaCyte
Sean J. Hart, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Scientific Officer, LumaCyte

11:25 AM: Keys to Entrepreneurial Success in the BioHealth Capital Region

Moderator:
Angela Graham, President & CEO, Quality Biological

Panelists:
Crystal R. Icenhour, PhD, CEO & Co-Founder, Aperiomics
Kenneth Mills, President & CEO, REGENXBIO
Eric B. Risser, SVP & Chief Business Officer, MacroGenics Inc.
Sara Nayeem, Partner, Washington DC, NEA

12:30 PM: Networking Lunch

1:40 PM: The Art of the Cluster

Keynote:
Joel Marcus, Executive Chairman & Founder, Alexandria Real Estate Equities

2:00 PM: Pediatric Research & Innovation

Speaker:
Kurt Newman, MD, President & CEO, Children’s National Medical Center

2:10 PM: How to Find (and Use) Public Resources

Moderator:
Jeff Gallagher, CEO, VirginiaBio

Panelists:
Lili M. Portilla, MPA, Director, Office of Strategic Alliances, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the NIH
Bret Schreiber, Senior Director, Office of BioHealth and Life Sciences, Maryland Department of Commerce
Phillip Singerman, Associate Director, Innovation & Industry Services, National Institute of Standards & Technology

2:10 PM: University-Industry Bio Partnerships in the Region: What is Working, What Needs Improving?

Moderator:
Anthony M. Boccanfuso, President, University Industry Demonstration Project

Panelists:
Kolaleh Eskandanian, Executive Director, Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation
Dr. Laurie E. Locascio, Vice President for Research, University of Maryland
Gayatri Varma, Director, Partnering & Strategy, AstraZeneca
Neil Weissman, Chief Scientific Officer, MedStar Health

3:10 PM: Networking Break

3:45 PM: The Future of Healthcare & The BioTech Industry

Keynote:
Jean-Charles Soria, SVP, R&D Oncology, AstraZeneca

4:10 PM: New Players & New Success in the BHCR

Moderator:
Matt Mulvey, PhD, Vice President, BeneVir, Janssen R&D US

Panelists:
Matthias Alder, Senior Vice President, Chief Business Officer, and Company Secretary, Autolus
Peter Boyd, Senior Director, Strategy, Edwards Lifesciences
Gary Gregory, CEO, Perthera
Murat Kalayoglu, MD, PhD, President & CEO, Cartesian Therapeutics

5:00 PM: Networking Reception

8:30 AM: Arrival

Registration, Breakfast, Networking

9:00 AM: Welcoming Remarks & BioHealth Capital Region Investment Conference Recap

Speaker:
Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation

9:10 AM: Biohealth Priorities for the Greater Washington Partnership

Keynote:
Jason Miller, CEO, Greater Washington Partnership

9:30 AM: Crab Trap

Moderator:
Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation Inc.

Judges:
John Rubin, Executive Director, J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Charles J. Andres, Intellectual Property Associate, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Raghav Bhargava, Venture Partner, Sanderling Ventures
Ethel Rubin, Entrepreneur in Residence, NIH
Norman Marcus, Associate, New Enterprise Associates
John Trainer, Vice President & Head, Partnering & Strategy, AstraZeneca

10:50 AM: Foreign Investment: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Moderator:
Signe Pringle, Assistant Secretary, Maryland Department of Commerce

Panelists:
Elizabeth McCargo, Vice Consul, Life Sciences & Healthcare Sector, UK Department for International Trade, British Embassy
Karen Miller, Trade Commissioner (Life Sciences), Embassy of Canada

11:50 AM: Lunch

1:00 PM: Opportunity Zones From A Bio View: What Are They and What Does It Mean for the BioHealth Capital Region?

Moderator:
Brian Darmody, Associate Vice President, Corporate and Foundation Relations, University of Maryland, and CEO, AURP

Panelists:
Sharon Carney, Economic Strategy Director, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development at DC Government
Frank Dickson, Director, Strategic Business Initiatives, Maryland Department of Housing & Community Development
Tami Howie, Partner, DLA Piper
Elizabeth Herman, Executive Director, Federal Government Relations, JP Morgan Chase

1:45PM: Closing Remarks: Looking to the Future – Goals for 2019

Moderator:
Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation Inc.

2:00 PM: Open Networking

2019 Sponsors

FOURTH ANNUAL BIOHEALTH REGION (BHCR)
CRAB TRAP COMPETITION

YOU THOUGHT SHARK TANK WAS TOUGH?

SPONSOR BY WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSTATI
THE BIOHEALTH CAPITAL REGION FORUM CRAB TRAP
APRIL 9, 2019 @ 9:30 AM

Finalists will have a chance to win the grand prize by presenting in front of a panel of prominent industry funding experts and executives.

DISTINGUISHED JUDGES

Moderator – Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation, Inc.
2019 Judges:

  • John Rubin, Executive Director, JP Morgan Private Bank
  • Charles J. Andres, Intellectual Property Associate, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR)
  • Raghav Bhargava, Associate, New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
  • Ethel Rubin, Entrepreneur in Residence, NIH
  • Shaun Grady, Vice-President Business Development Operations, AstraZeneca
  • Norm Marcus, MD, Venture Partner, Sanderling Ventures

2019 FINALISTS

BeCareLink
Predictive Artificial Intelligence Digital Therapeutic Mobile Platform for Multiple Sclerosis and other neurological conditions.
Presenter – CEO, Alan Gilbert, MPA
BRAINBox Solutions
Multi-Modality capability to diagnose and provide prognostic information for mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
Presenter – CEO, Donna J Edmonds
Floreo Inc.
Leveraging the power of virtual reality to develop a subscription platform that delivers immersive, fun, and affordable lessons for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Presenter – CEO and Co-Founder, Vijay Ravindran
Spine Align
Spine Align is a medical device company developing technologies that enable spine surgeons to make real-time intraoperative measurements of spinal alignment.
Presenter – CEO and Co-Founder, David Gullotti
Unleash Immuno Oncolytics
Developing armed, oncolytic viruses to treat metastatic cancers. Our platform combines tissue-specific control of both viral replication and the expression of human cytokines to provide a dual punch in cancer cells.
Presenter – COO, Louis J Cantolupo
CRITERIA
Product
Leadership Team
Marketing/Strategy
Technical Feasibility
Financial/Projection
PRIZES
$10,000
Grand Prize provided by WSGR
Visibility in front of hundreds of attendees and prominent industry and venture capital judges

Previous Crab Trap Winners

2018 – Galen Robotics
Galen Robotics, is developing, in partnership with JHU, a surgical robot to make minimally invasive surgeries faster, safer and more precise. The company plans a 510k submission next year, is raising Series A financing, and will be relocating the HQ team in CA to join their engineering experts in Baltimore.
2017 – LifeSprout
LifeSprout, developer of revolutionary synthetic soft tissues for aesthetic and reconstructive medicine. Leveraging recent breakthroughs in materials science, they have created a platform that looks and behaves like the body’s own tissues.
2016 –  Sonavex
Sonavex, a commercial stage Johns Hopkins spin-out focused on Empowered Patient Care.  The company’s first technology is a dual-component system comprising an FDA-cleared bioabsorbable implant (EchoMark) and an FDA-cleared custom automated ultrasound (EchoSure) to detect post-operative vascular complications prior to catastrophic surgical failures that represent a $3B annual market and cost hospitals up to $577,000 per instance.