Movers & Shakers #BIO2015 People to Meet
For the first time in 10 years, the 2015 BIO International Convention is hosted by Philadelphia -- the heart of the U.S. biopharma industry. With more than 1,200 companies located in and around the area, including small start-ups, fast-growing firms, and large, multinational firms, as well as an assortment of leading universities and research institutions, it’s no surprise the region is ranked No. 2 in the U.S. as a premier life science cluster. A large industry presence also means a large number of top industry leaders.
Here are some leaders to meet while you’re in town.
Chris Yochim, Delaware Bio, Chairman
Yochim is a founding member and Chairman of the Board of the Delaware Bioscience Association, the unified voice for Delaware’s thriving bio community, dedicated to facilitating growth of the life science industry, advancements in research as well as supporting education initiatives in Delaware and the surrounding region. As a trained pharmacologist, he contributed to the identification of several candidate compounds that are marketed drugs today, but more than anything else, Chris is known as AstraZeneca’s liaison to academia and biotech industry for the last two decades.
Matthew Cabrey, Select Greater Philadelphia, Executive Director
As Executive Director of Select Greater Philadelphia, Cabrey leads the team effort to market the 11-county region of northern Delaware, southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania to a national and international audience as a top-tier place to do business. Select, an affiliate of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, partners with business and civic leaders, economic development teams, and other public / private entities to help drive economic growth by attracting organizations to the region and helping existing organizations expand. Cabrey is a member of the Chamber’s leadership team, and drives the development and implementation of regional marketing initiatives.
Stephen Tang, University City Science Center, President and CEO
In 2008, Tang became President and CEO of the University City Science Center, the nation’s oldest and largest urban research park. He is the first president in the Science Center’s history to have not only led a company through venture funding and an initial public offering but also to serve as a senior executive with a large life sciences company as it acquired and integrated smaller start-ups. Tang previously led U.S. operations for Olympus America Inc.’s global Life Science businesses and was the president and CEO of Millennium Cell Inc.
Dean Miller, PACT, President and CEO
Since April 2010, Miller has acted as the President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT), the region's largest business association focused on emerging growth companies in the technology and healthcare industries. PACT's mission is to grow and strengthen the region's entrepreneurial community by connecting emerging growth companies, venture investors, technology-focused corporations, universities, and professional advisors to foster growth and innovation. Miller is currently a partner at Evergreen Industries, LLC, a firm focused on lower middle market investments.
Stephen Jannetta, Morgan Lewis, Partner
Jannetta is a partner at Morgan Lewis, a law firm with a reputation in global law and a full spectrum of services. Jannetta is an active member of the local legal and business communities and provides his clients in the life sciences, healthcare and healthcare insurance, technology, energy, and financial services industries with corporate advice. Jannetta is an active member of the board of directors for Pennsylvania Bio, the state’s trade association for the life sciences industry, and he chaired the association’s annual life sciences conference for the past two years.
Doug Dreyer, Vencore, Senior Vice President of Advanced Solutions
Dreyer is the Senior Vice President of Advanced Solutions at Vencore, a company that specializes in providing information solutions, engineering and analysis to the U.S. Intelligence Community. In this role, Dreyer develops new business by leveraging existing capabilities within Vencore and their subsidiary companies to create solutions to customer problems in Critical Infrastructure Protection, Healthcare Analytics and Commercial Space Programs.
Matthew Gantz, BTG, Executive Vice President, U.S.
Joining in 2009, Gantz is the Executive Vice President, U.S., with responsibility for BTG's global interventional pulmonology business and administrative oversight for U,S. business operations. He is also a non-executive director of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum, a publically traded rare diseases company in Sweden, and a board member of PA Bio, the industry trade association for the life sciences sector in Pennsylvania.
Vincent Milano, Idera Pharmaceuticals, CEO
In 2014, Milano became the CEO of Idera Pharmaceuticals, a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company developing nucleic acid therapeutics for cancers and rare diseases. Milano most recently served as Chairman, President and CEO of ViroPharma. Under his stewardship, ViroPharma became a leading developer of innovative therapies for rare diseases, with the approval and commercialization of its lead product, Cinryze, for the treatment of hereditary angioedema in the United States and Europe.
Perry Karsen, Celgene Corporation, COO
Karsen serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics (CCT), the placental stem cell research and development division of the Company. Previously he was Executive Vice President, Chief Executive Officer of CCT and Chief Operations Officer. Karsen previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Pearl Therapeutics, a privately-held biotechnology company, from February 2009 until July 2010.
Jeffrey D. Marrazzo, Spark Therapeutics, Co-founder and CEO
Marrazzo is the co-founder and CEO of Spark Therapeutics, Inc. where he serves on the board of directors. Marrazzo has led the creation and growth of Spark from a research center within The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to a publicly-traded, integrated gene therapy company developing one-time, life-altering treatments to transform the lives of patients and re-imagine the treatment of debilitating diseases. Under Jeff's leadership, Spark has raised more than $265 million in capital, established a global collaboration with Pfizer, recruited pioneers in gene therapy together with biotechnology industry executives, and advanced the company's lead product candidate.. Marrazzo is an experienced entrepreneur dedicated to curing disease through precision medicine, having helped build and sell the first genetic testing benefit management and pharmacogenomics medicines company to CVS Caremark.
Dr. Carl June, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Richard W. Vague Professor of Immunotherapy
June is currently Director of Translational Research at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, an Investigator of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, and coordinator of the June Laboratory. The June Laboratory provides researchers with the tools they need to translate laboratory insights into safe and effective cancer therapies. The June Laboratory works with University of Pennsylvania faculty members interested in moving biologically-focused research ideas into clinical trials. In addition, the June Laboratory has a cadre of faculty researchers focused on developing ways to enhance the ability of the natural immune system to recognize and eliminate tumor cells.
