2018 BioPacific Conference

Date: June 23, 2018 @ 8:00 am – @ 7:00 pm
Location: San Mateo Marriott, 1770 South Amphlett Blvd, San Mateo, CA 94402

2018 BioPacific Conference 

Theme: Innovation, Collaboration and Globalization

This conference will showcase: 

• Winners of 2018 CABS K. Fong Award in Life Sciences

• Expected to attract more than 500 attendees of life science professionals from the US, China and other regions

• Opportunities to connect with your peers and potential clients 

• Cutting-edge science and technology in life sciences including cancer immunotherapy, cell therapy, precision medicine, and medical technology

• Success stories of entrepreneurs and emerging companies 

• Patent and legal considerations in life sciences

• Latest biopharmaceutical development policies and regulations

• Cross-border investment and M&A and in life sciences

• BioPartnering Forum to facilitate interactions including project introduction and talent recruitment

Confirmed Speakers and Panelists include:

• Nils Lonberg, PhD, Senior VP, Oncology Discovery Biology, Bristol-Myers Squibb 
  
• Chris Chen, PhD, CEO, WuXi Biologics
  
• Sylvaine Cases, PhD, Vice President, Oncology Scientific Innovation, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
  
• Li Zhu, PhD, Chief Strategy Officer, Nanjing Legend Biotech and GenScript Biotechnology
  
• Deborah Charych, PhD, Executive Director, Nektar Therapeutics
  
• Dan Zhang, MD, MA, MPH, Executive Chairman, Fountain Medical Development (FMD)
  
• Guoliang Yu, PhD, Executive Chairman, Crown Bioscience; Venture Partner, OrbiMed Venture
  
• Yuling Luo, PhD, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Alamar Biosciences
  
• Scott Liu, PhD, Co-founder, President and CEO, Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Inc.
• Yiding（Mike）Chen, Founder and CEO, ACROBiosystems
  
• Janet Xiao, PhD, JD, Partner, Co-chair, Global Life Sciences Group, Morrison & Foerster LLP
  
• Li Feng, PhD, JD, Partner, Finnegan
• Wilson Lee, MBA, Director, Sino-Singapore (Chengdu) Innovation Park Development
  
• Daniel Pierce, PhD, Senior Director of Translational Medicine, Celgene
  
• Kenneth Fong, PhD, Chairman, Kenson Ventures
  
• Qingcong Lin, PhD, CEO, BioCytogen Boston 
  
• Tao Chen, MBA, Co-founder and CEO of Paragon Genomics
  
• Xueheng (Shawn) Cheng, PhD, Chief Technology Officer, Viva Biotech Ltd.
  
• John Ning, MD, PhD, Clinical Consultant in Clinical Science and Product Development Oncology for Genentech
  
• Jimmy Zhang, PhD, MBA, Venture Partner, Lilly Asia Ventures
  
• Cheni Kwok, PhD, CLP, Managing Partner & Founder, Linear Dreams LLC
  
• Steven X. Cui, PhD, JD, Owner, TransPac IP
• Huijun Zhou, PhD, FACMG, Founder & CEO, iDNA
• Grace Xu, MBA, Chairperson, Dendreon; Senior Vice President, Sanpower Group
  
• Liyu Wu, PhD, Senior Director, US Pharmaceutical Business Development and Project Management, Novogene
  
• Brooke Rock, PhD, Principal Scientist, Amgen
  
• Rufus Pichler, JD, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
  
• Jingrong Li, PhD, VP of CMC/Manufacturing, CStone (Suzhou) Pharmaceuticals
  
• Rajeev Dadoo, PhD, MBA, Partner, SR One 

• Angela Rusakova, Master of Economics, Partner, Deloitte & Touche

• Xiao-Jun Ma, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Diagnostics

• Nelson Lin, PhD, MBA, Director, Global Commercial Development, AbbVie
  

• Ruhong Jiang, PhD, Co-founder and CEO, Applied StemCell, Inc.
  

• Wenyan (David) Shen, PhD, SVP and Head of Biologics Research and CMC, NGM Biopharmaceuticals

Conference Agenda 

8:00 AM – 8:45 AM	Registration
8:45 AM – 8:50 AM	Welcome Remarks Yan Wang, PhD, President-elect of CABS and 2018 BioPacific Conference Organizing Committee Chair
8:50 AM – 9:00 AM	State of the Society Alex J. Zhang, PhD, MBA, President of CABS
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM	Combining Discreet Immune Mechanisms for Cancer Therapy: From Concept to Clinical Evidence Nils Lonberg, PhD, Senior VP, Oncology Discovery Biology, Bristol-Myers Squibb
9:30 AM – 10:00 AM	In-China-for-Global Biologics: The Exciting Story of WuXi Biologics Chris Chen, PhD, CEO, WuXi Biologics
10:00 AM-10:15 AM	Coffee Break

10:15 AM-10:55 AM	CABS K. Fong Award in Life Sciences Presenter: Kenneth Fong, PhD, Chairman, Kenson Ventures Awardees: Guoliang Yu, PhD, Executive Chairman, Crown Bioscience; Venture Partner, OrbiMed Venture Yuling Luo, PhD, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Alamar Biosciences
10:55 AM – 11:15 AM	Fireside Chat: Moderator: Cheni Kwok, PhD, CLP, Managing Partner & Founder, Linear Dreams LLC Yiding (Mike) Chen, Founder and CEO, ACROBiosystems Scott Liu, PhD, Co-founder, President and CEO, Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Inc.
11:15 AM – 11:55 AM	IP Considerations, Cross-border Licensing and Collaboration This session will cover intellectual property considerations in drug development and licensing deals; the stories of cross-border licensing deals and collaborations in drug and device development. Moderator, Janet Xiao, PhD, JD, Partner, Co-chair, Global Life Sciences Group, Morrison & Foerster LLP Panelist, Li Feng, PhD, JD, Partner, Finnegan Panelist, Wilson Lee, MBA, Director, United States, Sino-Singapore (Chengdu) Innovation Park Development Panelist, Steven X. Cui, PhD, JD, Owner, TransPac IP Panelist, Rufus Pichler, JD, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM	Lunch Break

12:45 PM – 1:00 PM	Celebrating 20 years of CABS’s Excellence
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM	J&J Approach to Global Innovation Sylvaine Cases, PhD, Vice President, Oncology Scientific Innovation, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM	Innovations, Tools, and Animal Models in Drug Development This session will cover humanized animal model for immune checkpoint inhibitor evaluation; how to design clinical trial based on animal model; the importance of NGS and liquid biopsy in precision medicine and drug development; and affinity selection mass spectrometry as an innovative platform.  Moderator, Ruhong Jiang, PhD, Cofounder and CEO, Applied StemCell, Inc. Panelist, Brooke Rock, PhD, Principal Scientist, Amgen Panelist, Qingcong Lin, PhD, CEO, BioCytogen Boston Panelist, Tao Chen, MBA, Co-founder and CEO of Paragon Genomics Panelist, Xueheng (Shawn) Cheng, PhD, Chief Technology Officer, Viva Biotech Panelist, Liyu Wu, PhD, Senior Director, US Pharmaceutical Business Development and Project Management, Novogene
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM	A world-class breakthrough in blood cancer treatment done by China biotech company Legend Biotech with CART cell therapy Li Zhu, PhD, Chief Strategy Officer, Nanjing Legend Biotech and GenScript Biotechnology
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM	Developing Innovative Therapeutics This session will cover the program selection for drug development; clinical trial strategies on immune-oncology drug; and companion diagnostics for a successful clinical trial. Moderator, Wenyan (David) Shen, PhD, SVP and Head of Biologics Research and CMC, NGM Biopharmaceuticals Panelist, Daniel Pierce, PhD, Senior Director of Translational Medicine, Celgene Panelist, John Ning, MD, PhD, Clinical Consultant in Clinical Science and Product Development Oncology for Genentech Panelist, Jingrong Li, PhD, VP of CMC/Manufacturing, CStone (Suzhou) Pharmaceuticals Panelist, Xiao-Jun Ma, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Diagnostics Panelist, Nelson Lin, PhD, MBA, Director, Global Commercial Development, AbbVie
3:00 PM – 3:15  PM	Coffee Break

3:15 PM – 3:45 PM	The regulatory affairs after the enforcement of ICH guideline by CFDA and the comparison of regulatory affairs between China and US Dan Zhang, MD, MA, MPH, Executive Chairman, Fountain Medical Development (FMD)
3:45 PM – 4:15PM	Harnessing potent immune agonist pathways for oncology and beyond Deborah Charych, PhD, Executive Director, Nektar Therapeutics
4:15 PM – 4:50 PM	Panel Discussion: Investment, Acquisition and IPO in Life Sciences.  This session will cover cross-border life science investment, Sanpower’s acquisition of Dendreon for $819.9 million; IPO in Hongkong vs. US. Moderator, Huijun Zhou, PhD, FACMG, Founder & CEO, iDNA Panelist, Jimmy Zhang, PhD, MBA, Venture Partner, Lilly Asia Ventures Panelist, Grace Xu, MBA, Chairperson, Dendreon; Senior Vice President, Sanpower Group Panelist, Angela Rusakova, Master of Economics, Partner, Deloitte & Touche Panelist, Rajeev Dadoo, PhD, MBA, Partner, SR One
5:00 PM	Conference Adjourned
8:45 AM – 5:00 PM	Conference (Convene room)
8:45 AM – 7:00 PM	Partnering (Synergy 1 room)
8:00 AM – 7:00 PM	Exhibition hall (Inspire room)
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM	Post-conference Reception Sponsored by Diamond Sponsors (Engage room and courtyard)

 

CABS would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our sponsors for supporting us.  Please see sponsor logo below.

Sponsorship: fundraising@cabsweb.org

Questions? info@cabsweb.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VIP speaker bio and presentation abstract (more later)

Nils Lonberg, Ph.D.

Senior VP, Oncology Discovery Biology, Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bio: Dr. Lonberg is Senior VP, Oncology Discovery Biology at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he leads drug discovery efforts for both targeted oncology agents and immuno-oncology agents. Dr. Lonberg began his career in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry leading the research group at GenPharm International that developed genetically engineered strains of mice with germline-configuration human immunoglobulin genes. These transgenic animals have been used to discover over three dozen clinical-stage human sequence antibodies, including ten FDA approved products (golimumab, ustekinumab, ofatumumab, canakinumab, ipilimumab, nivolumab, secukinumab, daratumumab, bezelotoximab, and olaratumab). In 1997, GenPharm was acquired by Medarex, which was in turn acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2009. Beginning in 1998, Dr. Lonberg’s research group focused on antibody therapies that target and modulate immune attenuating pathways to activate patient immune responses to cancer cells (so-called “checkpoint blockade” therapies). Ipilimumab, which began clinical testing in 2000, was the first ever checkpoint blockade cancer therapy to enter clinical development and to gain regulatory approval. Ipilimumab, which gained regulatory approval in 2011, was also the first drug to ever demonstrate a survival benefit for patients with metastatic melanoma in a randomized clinical trial. A second checkpoint blockade cancer therapeutic from Dr. Lonberg’s group, nivolumab, entered clinical development in 2006 and gained regulatory approval in 2014. Dr. Lonberg received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Harvard University in 1985, where he studied under Professor Walter Gilbert, and he was a post-doctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.  Dr. Lonberg was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2015.

Presentation Title: Combining Discreet Immune Mechanisms for Cancer Therapy: From Concept to Clinical Evidence

Abstract: The cancer immunotherapy drugs ipilimumab and nivolumab target the immune checkpoint molecules CTLA-4 and PD-1 respectively.  While both targets are mediators of immune attenuation, preclinical, and now clinical, data clearly demonstrate that ipilimumab and nivolumab have very different mechanisms of action.  The combination of these discreet mechanisms showed early promise in preclinical assays and models.  That data led to clinical testing of the combined use of both drugs in multiple different cancer types.  The combination is now FDA approved in melanoma and kidney cancer, with clinical development continuing in a variety of other cancers.  The mechanism of action of this now validated therapy will be discussed.

Chris Chen, PhD

CEO, WuXi Biologics

Bio: Dr. Chris Chen is currently Chief Executive Officer at WuXi Biologics, a Hong Kong listed public company with market cap of approx. $10+ billion USD. At WuXi he has built a world-class open-access integrated biologics discovery, development and manufacturing platform enabling full spectrum of companies ranging from 2-employee virtual companies to Top 20 global large pharma. WuXi has transformed the global biotech industry by enabling entrepreneurs to build successful biotech companies with no need for investing in infrastructure for people, labs or manufacturing. Under his leadership, WuXi has assembled one of the largest biologics teams with over 2700 scientists enabling 60+ biologics entering into clinical trials per year. WuXi has also pioneered disposable-bioreactor based state-of-the-art commercial manufacturing facility and built the first 30,000L bioreactor capacity in the world using disposables. The globally leading platform developed by WuXi Biologics is now serving more than 200 companies worldwide.

Dr. Chen obtained his dual bachelor’s degrees of chemical engineering and automation at Tsinghua University, Beijing China and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Delaware, US.  He then gained valuable experience in biologics development, manufacturing and quality in the US, where his previous assignments include director and manager positions at Lilly and Merck. Dr. Chen later joined Shanghai Celgen Biopharmaceuticals as Chief Operating Officer, successfully developed a high-titer high-quality commercial process for biosimilar etanercept and obtained regulatory approval for the program in China in 2011. He chaired multiple conferences in biochemical engineering and mab development in US and China and is frequently invited to speak at multiple conferences. He is also adjunct professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University. Dr Chen is co-author and co-inventor of 60+ publications and patents.

Presentation Title: In-China-for-Global Biologics: The Exciting Story of WuXi Biologics

Abstract: Biologics are transforming recent healthcare by addressing unmet medical needs, biologics discovery, development and manufacturing, however, requires significant expertise and investment. Prior to WuXi Biologics investment in biologics, China lags behind the global standards significantly. Over the past seven years, WuXi Biologics has successfully built a world-class biologics platform, developing 161 biologics concurrently from 100+ global clients. Recent approval of Taimed’s Trogarzo showcased ultimate success of the WuXi Biologics investment as it is the first company in China to obtain regulatory approval for commercial manufacturing of biologics in China.

Sylvaine Cases, PhD

Vice President, Oncology Scientific Innovation, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

Bio: Sylvaine is currently the VP of Oncology Scientific Innovation for Janssen Research & Development and the J&J California Innovation Center. In this role she manages and develops a portfolio of external opportunities that are aligned with Janssen Oncology strategy. Sylvaine has significant experience in the fields of cancer biology and metabolism, with more than 16 years in research and drug discovery in both pharma, biotech, and academia. Most recently, she served as Senior Director in the Global Business Development Group and Head of External Science & Partnering, US West for Sanofi where she managed the US West Team’s biotech deal flow in alignment with the Sanofi R&D therapeutic areas. Her team also built and managed alliances with academic centers in the US West ecosystem. Previous roles include Head of Pharmacology at Arete Therapeutics and Senior Group Leader at Cytokinetics where she led programs in cancer pharmacology and translational oncology. Prior to her move to biotech, Sylvaine held an academic appointment at the Gladstone Institutes at UCSF where she focused her research on metabolism and cancer with an emphasis on the tumor microenvironment.

Sylvaine has a Masters in Bioengineering, Major in Biochemistry from AgroParisTech (National Institute of Agronomy, Paris, France), and a Ph.D. in Molecular Oncology from Institut Gustave Roussy for Cancer Research and the University of Paris VII, France. She spent her post-doctoral years at the Gladstone Institutes/UCSF and additionally holds a Sanofi Business Master Certificate from the London Business School.

Presentation title: J&J Approach to Global Innovation

Abstract: To continue impacting human health positively, the question is not whether but how to foster and sustain innovation. Staying the course is not an option and the need to innovate has pushed private and public institutions to search and develop partnering models that help scientists, clinicians, and entrepreneurs realize their dreams of creating healthcare solutions to improve peoples’ lives around the world. In such a global ecosystem, Johnson & Johnson has established its innovation arm that comprises a venture group, a network of incubators – JLABS - as well as innovation centers staffed with search, evaluation and deal-making experts in the early stage biomedical space. We will describe Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJI) approach as an anchor to discuss global innovation and collaborations in biomedical sciences.

Li Zhu, PhD

Chief Strategy Officer, Nanjing Legend Biotech and GenScript Biotechnology

Bio: Dr. Li Zhu, Chief Strategy Officer of Legend Biotech and GenScript, is in charge of corporate business strategy, in-license, strategic M&A, and new business development. Li obtained his bachelor degree in China in 1982 and his PhD degree at Stanford University in molecular biology and immunology in 1989. He worked at Clontech Laboratories in California from 1990 to 2000, successfully pioneered the commercialization of yeast two-hybrid system and a series of other advanced molecular biology techniques. He founded and managed Genetastix, a platform biotech company focusing on creating human antibody library in yeast and screening such library with genetic method. He returned to China in 2006 and worked at two biotech companies in Shanghai Zhangjiang High-tech Park before joining GenScript in 2010. He has been with GenScript since then. He has participated in the negotiation and final completion of Legend-Janssen BCMA – targeting CART therapy for Multiple Myeloma collaboration deal in 2017, a landmark business event between China biotech and US conglomerate pharma companies. Li has a business administration certificate from University of California, Berkeley.

Presentation Title: A world-class breakthrough in blood cancer treatment done by China biotech company Legend Biotech with CART cell therapy

Abstract: At 2017 ASCO conference in Chicago, Legend Biotech reported the result of preliminary clinical trials in multiple myeloma with its unique CART cell therapy technology. This report was heralded as one of the biggest news of 2017 ASCO and the most successful cancer treatment in the history. Since then many biggest pharma companies have been attracted to Nanjing for license and collaboration negotiation. By the end of 2017, we have concluded a deal with Janssen Pharmaceuticals for a 50:50 cost-and-profit-sharing, worldwide collaboration contract (70:30 in great China). The upfront payment from Janssen to Legend was $350M with additional escalating milestone payments. This deal also sets a big milestone in business development between a China biotech and a US conglomerate pharma companies. I will describe how Legend biotech develops from ground zero to a world class innovative cancer-fighting player. 

Deborah Charych, PhD

Executive Director, Nektar Therapeutics

Bio: Dr. Deborah Charych has held senior scientific leadership positions in both academia at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and in biotechnology at Chiron Corporation, FivePrime Therapeutics, and now at Nektar Therapeutics. At Nektar Therapeutics, she leads the strategic development of the Immuno-Oncology pipeline and identified a novel approach to modulate the tumor microenvironment using polymer-molecular engineering. This work led to the development of NKTR-214, a biased agonist of the IL-2 pathway, currently in Phase 2 clinical development. Alternative engineering of the IL-2 pathway led to the clinical development of NKTR-358 for autoimmune disease. NKTR-358 is currently in Phase I and successfully partnered with Eli Lilly. Follow-on cytokine and small molecule immune modulators are slated for the clinic in 2018 (NKTR-255, an IL-15 receptor agonist and NKTR-262, a TLR 7/8 agonist). At FivePrime Therapeutics, Deborah led a team that contributed to the clinical development of FP-1039, a pan-FGF inhibitor biologic for oncology in Phase II clinical trials. As Director of FivePrime’s Process Development group, she also led the downstream process development of several complex fusion biologics for oncology and inflammation, scaling from Research to GMP manufacturing. While at Chiron Corporation she initiated and led a large proteomics effort to guide oncology target discovery. She also developed novel combinatorial libraries of peptoids to develop immune adjuvants and drug delivery agents. At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, she assumed an academic leadership role as Principal Investigator, focusing on new polymeric materials for biosensor applications. Deborah’s formal education is in Chemistry, earning a PhD from University of California at Berkeley and a B.S. in Chemistry from Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.

Presentation Title: Harnessing potent immune agonist pathways for oncology and beyond

Abstract: Many potent endogenous proteins that activate important biological pathways are difficult to translate into exogenous therapies because of toxicities, poor pharmacokinetics or sub-optimal pharmacodynamics. We have engineered endogenous proteins and exogenous small molecules using polymer technology to enable viable medicines. NKTR-214 is in Phase 2 clinical trials and a key example of how polymer conjugation can bias the well-known IL2 receptor pathway to favor CD8 T cell tumor infiltration over Tregs. Other examples to be discussed are NKTR-255, an IL15 receptor agonist and NKTR-262, a small molecule conjugate that stimulates toll-like receptor (TLR). Each agent has been conjugated in unique ways to elicit desirable and controlled pharmacological and immunological outcomes.

Dan Zhang, MD, MPH

Executive Chairman of Fountain Medical Development Ltd

Bio: Dr. Dan Zhang is the Executive Chairman of Fountain Medical Development Ltd, a clinical CRO with 1700 employees operating in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, UK, India, Philippines, Armenia & USA.

Dr. Zhang was the Head of Clinical Development and was the Head of Safety Assessment at Sigma-Tau Research Inc-leading Italian Pharmaceutical Company, He was the vice president at the Quintiles Transnational Corp., the world largest clinical CRO, and Chairman of Quintiles Medical Development (Shanghai) Company Ltd.

Dr. Zhang is a member of grant review committee for National Drug Development Fund of China, and is also a consultant for the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). He is a member of ICH E19 Expert Working Group. He is also chairing the committee of Pharmaceutical R&D, China Pharmaceutical Industry Research and Development Association. Dr. Zhang is also a senior consultant for the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. He was a member of the Overseas Expert Committee on New Drug R&D for the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and was the secretary-general of the Association of “Thousand Talent” Expert from 2011-2017. Dr. Zhang was the former board of directors for the Sino-American Pharmaceutical Association (SAPA) and was the former president of Chinese Biopharmaceutical Association-USA (CBA). Dr. Zhang is chairing the government relationship committee of Bayhelix-an organization hosting senior executives from life-science organizations in USA and China.

Dr. Zhang received his pre-med training from Peking University and received M.D. from Peking Union Medical College. He then went to the Harvard School of Public Health and received MPH in health policy and management. Then he went to the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained his master’s degree in healthcare management in 1998.

Presentation Title: The regulatory affairs after the enforcement of ICH guideline by CFDA and the comparison of regulatory affairs between China and US

Abstract: CFDA has experienced dramatic changes in last three years and it also became a member of ICH. These changes have profound impact on the global drug development for both domestic and global pharmaceutical companies. including their regulatory and clinical development strategies. This presentation would highlight major regulatory changes, compare & contrast with US regulatory system, and analyze the impact of consolidated changes up to this year. Special attention is paid to the current status of these changes and case studies.

CABS would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our sponsors for supporting us.

Sponsorship: fundraising@cabsweb.org