Strategic Approaches to Developing and Commercializing Companion Diagnostics

April 22, 2020 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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Add to Calendar 4/22/2020 12:00:00 PM 4/22/2020 1:00:00 PM Strategic Approaches to Developing and Commercializing Companion Diagnostics The COVID-19 pandemic has proven the importance of diagnostic tests in overcoming healthcare crises and saving lives; but it has required rapid scale up and deployment of point of care and lab based tests hopefully with lessons learned for the future. Join us to learn more about the journey of developing a companion diagnostic from discovery through commercialization.

Precision medicine is an emerging method that factors in an individual’s molecular profile, environment, and lifestyle in order to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more effectively. It’s about considering individual differences in the course of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Patients can be classified into subgroups based on how susceptible they are to certain diseases, how those diseases will develop, or how they’ll respond to particular treatments. This information can then be used to predict what the most effective course of action will be. Companion Diagnostics are tools employed to identify those patients who are most likely to benefit from a particular therapeutic product, highlight those at increased risk for serious side effects, and monitor treatment response.

But what about those tasked with bringing precision medicine tests and treatments to the market? What are they doing, what challenges do they face, and how are they working with stakeholders within the wider healthcare ecosystem? We’ll follow the journey of developing a companion diagnostic from discovery through commercialization and answer those questions in this informative forum. Please come prepared with your questions.

Sponsored by the Medtech/Digital Health working group.

NOTE: As MassBio transitions to virtual events, we are striving to make them as inclusive as possible given the challenges and restrictions inherent in virtual events. Thank you for your understanding.

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  • Jessica Atkinson
  • Vice President, BioPharma Business Development, Foundation Medicine Inc.
  • Ms. Atkinson joined Foundation Medicine in 2016 and currently serves as vice president, biopharma business development, and leads the biopharma business development organization. She has more than 14 years of business development and commercialization experience in the diagnostics and pharmaceutical industries, specializing in structuring complex partnerships, negotiating transactions, and partnering strategy. In her prior role at Foundation Medicine, Ms. Atkinson served as senior director, corporate and business development, leading companion diagnostics (CDx) business development efforts. Prior to joining Foundation Medicine, Ms. Atkinson served as a member of the business development team at Asuragen where she was responsible for developing and executing pharmaceutical partnerships and collaborations. Prior to Asuragen, she served in a leadership role within the commercial organization of Merck & Co. Ms. Atkinson earned her degree in Molecular Biology from The University of Texas at Austin.
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  • Benoit Destenaves
  • Executive Director - Head of Biomarkers and Companion Dx, H3 Biomedicine
  • Benoit Destenaves has 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry specializing in the analysis of molecular biomarkers. Benoit started his career in 1999 at the French biotech Genset working as a genomics data analyst. He then worked for Serono/Merck Serono in France then in Switzerland, where he held positions of increasing responsibility linked to precision medicine in oncology, endocrinology and fertility. In 2013, He joined AstraZeneca in the UK to lead the molecular diagnostics labs and Pharmacogenomics group within the Precision Medicine and Genomics Function where he developed the group’s focus on novel approaches (ctDNA, NGS) for companion diagnostics and later on lead strategic diagnostic and precision medicine projects. In October 2019, he joined H3 Biomedicine, an oncology focused precision medicine company, to head clinical translational efforts and diagnostic developments.
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  • Paul Hartung
  • Board Director, Leuko, SemiNex, MDG
  • Paul is an experienced life sciences executive with a proven track record in launching successful startup businesses and leading Fortune 500 organizations. He serves on the Boards of Leuko, an award-winning startup developing a non-invasive white blood cell finger test, SemiNex, a profitable semi-conductor laser company, and Medical Development Group (MDG), a leading medical technology professional organization. He is an active supporter of the life sciences entrepreneurial ecosystem, mentoring at MIT Venture Mentoring Service and MassCONNECT. Paul founded Sonivance, developing hearing augmentation technologies, and served as President & CEO of Cognoptix, which developed an innovative eye scan for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. He was previously managed manufacturing for Summit Technology, Inc., a leading developer of the LASIK procedure. Paul graduated with honors from MIT with an MS Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is an active speaker, author and inventor on a number of patents.
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  • Jane Li
  • Senior Director, Oncology Companion Diagnostics Commercialization, Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Jane Li is the global lead for NGS companion diagnostics commercialization at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Over the past five years, she was a key member of NGS CDx program, and led effort to launch Oncomine Dx Target Test, 1st NGS CDx with multiple therapies in NSCLC, in several countries, including US, EU, Japan, and Korea. She oversees all aspects of CDx commercial launch, including obtaining favorable reimbursement coverage and pricing in launched countries. She also leads commercial collaborations with pharma partners globally.
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  • Alif Saleh
  • CEO, Scipher Medicine
  • A global business leader and entrepreneur at heart, Alif draws from his scientific background in systems biology, network theory, and engineering at Scipher. Alif has successfully led cross-disciplinary teams in technology and business across Asia, Europe and the Americas – raising over $225 million in venture and private equity capital. Previously with BCI (acquired 2000), Alfa Laval (IPO 2002), and Myriant (acquired 2014), Alif received his MSc degree in Chemical and Genetic Engineering from Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden.
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