Breakthrough Technologies Accelerating Diagnosis and Filling the Therapeutic Gap for Rare and Genetic Diseases

According to a 2013 Rare Disease Impact Report conducted by Shire, the economic impact of diagnosing and management of rare disease is substantial. One of the key findings the report revealed is that it takes, on average, more than seven years for a rare disease patient in the US to receive an accurate diagnosis. There are 6,000 rare disease recognized by NIH and yet only approximately 200 of these illnesses have effective pharmacologic treatment coverage. There is a gap of medicines and therapies that can address certain unmet medical needs of rare disease patients that has major growth potential for pharma and device companies in the market for orphan disease.

Sino-American Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Professional Association （SABPA）Medical Device and Diagnostic（MDD）Forum will bring together stakeholders of in research, academia, regulatory and investment to foster partnerships that will boost the development of medical device, drug, and biological products for rare disease patients; and ultimately improving the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients and their families.

Agenda

8:00 am            Breakfast and Registration

8:45 am            Welcome and Opening Remarks    

9:00 am            Solving the Unsolvable：the Genomics Revolution at Our Fingertips

Ryan Taft, Ph.D., Director Scientific Research, Illumina, Inc.

9:30 am            Key FDA Challenges in Bringing Orphan Drugs to the Market in the United States

Michael Swit, J.D., Senior Director, Compliance & Regulatory, Legal, Illumina, Inc.

10:00 am          Home-based Non-invasive Brain Monitoring for Individuals with Rare Neurological Conditions

Philip Low, Ph.D., Founder, Chairman & CEO, Neurovigil Inc.

10:30 am          Coffee Break

11:00 am          Venture Philanthropy：A Novel Approach for Funding Rare Disease Research

John Wetherell, Ph.D., Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

11:30 am  Panel Discussion: New approaches to overcome obstacles and drive discovery and innovation for faster patient impact

                        Moderator: Christina Waters, Ph.D., CEO & Founder, Rare Science          

Panelists:   Christian Braemer, CEO & CO-Founder, Benefunder

Hudson Freeze, Ph.D., Director, Human Genetics Program, Sanford Children's      Health Research Center

  John Walmsley, Vice President of Product Development, Starfish Medical

  Kim Goodsell, Patient Advocate

12:30 pm         Closing Remarks

12:45 pm         Lunch

2015 MDD Forum

Chair：Caroline Cheung

Co-Chairs：Hua Gong, Ph.D. and Lei Zhang, Ph.D.

When              8:00 am - 2:00 pm, Saturday, February 7, 2015

Where             Knobbe Martens（12790 El Camino Real, San Diego, CA 92130）

Registration   https://s01.123signup.com/servlet/SignUp?P=15200891911428764000&PG=1520089182300&Info=

For event sponsorship, please contact sponsorship@sabpa.org