Wednesday, May 1
4:00 p.m.
Registration
6:00 p.m.
Welcome Reception
7:00 p.m.
Welcome Dinner
Thursday, May 2
7:00 a.m.
Breakfast & Registration
8:00 a.m.
rEVOLUTION Symposium Welcome
8:10 a.m.
Three Body Problem – Navigating the Ever-Increasing Complexity and Opportunity of Biopharma R&D
An action packed, hard-hitting, in-depth discussion focusing on solving the problem of world peace, climate change, the state of politics, and other key topics that are on the minds of our heroes who head R&D at major Pharma institutions.
Moderator:
Keith Gottesdiener, M.D., Prime Medicine
Panelists:
Jane Grogan, Ph.D., Biogen
Fiona Marshall, Ph.D., Novartis, Biomedical Research
Robert Plenge, M.D., Ph.D., Bristol Myers Squibb
Andy Plump, M.D., Ph.D., Takeda
9:40 a.m.
Networking Break
10:15 a.m.
Emerging Technologies – Are We Reaching a Tipping Point?
The focus of the panel discussion will be on other, emerging technologies, tested in biotech, which have made significant advances in recent years and may be approaching the tipping point, where they are considered mainstream. These include (but are not limited to) radiopharmaceuticals, RNA interference, and gene editing. The panel will discuss the extent to which these technologies have matured; the obstacles that must be overcome before they can be considered mainstream, from a clinical, technical, and regulatory perspective; and the other, non-technical considerations that will inform the widespread adoption and application of these technologies.
Moderator:
Doug Williams, Ph.D., Sana Biotechnology
Panelists:
Raymond Deshaies, Ph.D., Amgen
David Liu, Ph.D., Broad Institute
Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., FDA
Lori Lyons-Williams, Abdera Therapeutics
11:45 a.m.
Break
12:00 p.m.
Lunch & Fireside Chat
A conversation with Rick Pazdur, FDA. Moderated by Steve Usdin, BioCentury.
1:45 p.m.
Break
2:00 p.m.
Surfing the Tidal Wave: The Present and Future of Obesity Therapy
Obesity and associated co-morbidities are the primary drivers of both direct and indirect health care costs in the US. It was only a few years ago that Novo and Lilly first reported >10% weight loss in people with obesity with semaglutide and tirzepatide, respectively. These were breakthroughs in the treatment of obesity, which was previously a graveyard of failed clinical and commercial assets. Since then, outcomes trials have begun to demonstrate the benefits of weight loss, and there has been rapid progress in advancing the next generation of injectables, and oral therapies. Lilly and Novo are currently the #1 and #2 pharma companies based on market cap.
Nearly all approved therapeutics and those currently in development utilize GLP-1 as the foundational mechanism, yet history has taught us that multiple mechanisms are typically required to meet unmet needs in large, diverse primary care markets. Moreover, despite the remarkable efficacy of these agents, they have several limitations, including tolerability, convenience, quality of weight loss, adherence, cost, and ability to scale.
Increasing investment by pharma, biotech and the venture community will be required to identify new opportunities to meet the unmet need. This panel, which includes leading experts in metabolism from pharma and biotech, will discuss the strengths and limitations of current therapeutics, emerging areas of research and development, and opportunities for new investment.
Moderator:
Nancy Thornberry, Kallyope
Panelists:
Rachel Batterham, O.B.E., M.B.B.S., Ph.D., F.R.C.P., Eli Lilly and Company
Karin Conde-Knape, Ph.D., Novo Nordisk
Kevin Grove, Ph.D., Helicore
Philip Larsen, Ph.D., M.D., Six Peaks Bio
Mark Pruzanski, M.A., M.D., formerly Versanis
3:30 p.m.
Break
6:15 p.m.
Walk (0.2mi) to Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
6:30 p.m.
Networking Reception
7:30 p.m.
Dinner and Programming
Market Update
David Ke, Managing Director, Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan
Keynote Discussion
A conversation with Nobel Laureates Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D. & Dave MacMillian, Ph.D.
Moderated by Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Ph.D., Xaira
9:30 p.m.
Dessert Reception & Networking
Friday, May 3
7:00 a.m.
Breakfast & Registration
8:00 a.m.
Welcome Back
8:10 a.m.
AI in Drug Development: Not If, but How
While the biopharma industry has lagged other sectors, such as retail and equity trading, in adoption of AI, it’s now poised for revolutionary levels of change. Large volumes of increasingly well-curated data, systems that allow data to flow in compliant manners, and advanced analytics, including the recent revolutions in predictive and generative AI, are all rapidly converging. However, much of the attention is focused on AI in drug discovery, and less to the significant advances in drug development, where near-term opportunities abound. Numerous critical challenges now appear addressable, that can lead to both material improvements in overall probability of success as well as improvements in efficiency.
The applications of AI in drug development span uses in patient-finding, the definition of the appropriate patient (approaches to precision medicine), site selection and de-selection, patient recruitment, remote clinical trials, harnessing real world data to construct external control arms in large clinical trials that provide rich relevance data, drug manufacturing, post-approval commitments and safety monitoring, and much more.
This panel will discuss advances including how biopharmaceutical companies are currently deploying such approaches in clinical development, or should be. The panel will discuss when such approaches are likely to drive value for programs, organizations and patients and in which problems such approaches are likely to have impactful solutions.
Moderator:
Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., FogPharma
Panelists:
Nicolle Gatto, Ph.D., M.P.H., Aetion
Najat Khan, Ph.D., Johnson & Johnson
Eric Schadt, Ph.D., Pathos
Anas El Turabi, Ph.D., McKinsey & Company
9:40 a.m.
Networking Break
10:15 a.m.
Precision Medicine: When and How Do Other Fields Match Oncology’s Success?
This panel will review the challenges and opportunities with precision medicine in neurologic, cardio-metabolic, and immune-mediated diseases. With the goal of having targeted therapies that address genetic drivers and causal biology, the panelists will discuss new approaches and advances in polygenic diseases, complex chronic diseases, and patient populations that are non-responsive or refractory to therapies.
Moderator:
Pablo Cagnoni, M.D., Incyte
Panelists:
Azad Bonni, M.D., Ph.D., Roche
Sek Kathiresan, M.D., Verve
Dhaval Patel, M.D., Ph.D., UCB
11:45 a.m.
Break
12:00 p.m.
Closing Luncheon & Keynote Speakers
Anna Palmer, Founder & CEO of Punchbowl News, Former Co-Author of POLITICO Playbook
& Jake Sherman, Founder of Punchbowl News, Former Co-Author of POLITICO Playbook
1:30 p.m.
Departure