If you are a MA-based full time student interested in attending this event, financial assistance is available through the Stay in MA program.  Please visit www.stayinma.com

Futures in Life Sciences Commercialization 2 (Reimbursement, Market Access, Patient Advocacy, and Pharmacoeconomics) Panel Discussion and Networking Event

Date: October 18^th, 2011

Location:  MassBio Offices, One Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142

Time: 5:30pm – 8:00pm 

Propel Careers, MassBio, and the MassBioEd have joined together to organize a series of networking and panel events focused on raising awareness of career paths that exist in life sciences for individuals with advanced degrees. This Futures in Life Science program will bring together experts across a wide range of disciplines and functional areas within the life science industry, who will detail their roles and will provide a rich context for the audience to gain a clear understanding of the skills, aptitudes, competencies, and personalities that thrive in their particular functions. 

Attendance for this program is open to current graduate students, post doctoral fellows, and medical residents who are interested in careers in the life sciences industry.  Space is limited to 100 individuals. Food and refreshments will be provided.

The event will focus on the various career options within the commercial area of the life sciences sector including Reimbursement, Market Access, Patient Advocacy, and Pharmacoeconomics where individuals with advanced degrees can thrive. 

Meeting Agenda:

5:30pm-6:00pm – Registration and Open Networking 

6:00pm-6:10pm – Introductions, Overview, and Recognition of Sponsors

6:10pm-7:30pm – Panel Discussion

Panelists:

§  Denis Meletiche, Vice President of Health Outcomes and Market Access, EMD Serono

§  Nick Ferenc, Associate Director, Global Marketing and Commercial Strategy, Oncology and Transplant, Genzyme Corporation

§  Mike Walsh, Advocacy Development, Medimmune

§  Chester Schwartz , Vice President of Life Sciences, Collaborative Consulting

7:30pm-8:00pm – Open Networking

Panel biographies

Dennis Meletiche, Vice President of Health Outcomes and Market Access, EMD Serono

Dr. Meletiche currently leads the Health Outcomes and Market Access function at EMD Serono.  In his current role, Dr. Meletiche leads a team of Health Outcomes Researchers in generating and disseminating Health Outcomes information to regional and national managed markets customers in the US.  In collaboration with the national health insurer Cigna, Dr. Meletiche led the development and implementation of the first Outcomes-based contract for a specialty pharmaceutical in the US.  He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences on the topics of Comparative Effectiveness Research, Communicating Value to Payers, and Strategy Development for Health Outcomes Research.  His research interests and expertise include comparative effectiveness research, adherence measurement and the strategic development of evidence to secure market access  The work conducted by Dr. Meletiche has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed publications and professional congresses.  Prior to joining EMD Serono in 2006, Dr. Meletiche spent six years with Ortho-McNeil Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.  Dr. Meletiche obtained his Bachelors in Pharmacy from the University of Puerto Rico and he also holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Meletiche completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in Health Economics and Outcomes Research at Thomas Jefferson University and GlaxoSmithKline in Philadelphia, PA.

Nick Ferenc, Associate Director, Global Marketing and Commercial Strategy, Oncology and Transplant, Genzyme Corporation

Nick Ferenc has worked in Biotech/Pharma for the past 11 years in various commercial roles.  Currently he is a director of global marketing in the Sanofi oncology division which acquired the Genzyme portfolio of oncology and transplant products early in 2011.  While at Sanofi/Genzyme, Nick has worked primarily in the hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplant areas, commercializing emerging therapies and working on mature/late life cycle biologics.  Prior to moving to Cambridge, Nick worked in various commercial and strategic roles at Wyeth and AstraZeneca in both the oncology and cardiovascular spaces.  Nick holds an MS in Biotechnology and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and a BS from Wake Forest University.  Nick currently lives in Brookline with his wife who is a local artist. 

Michael Walsh, Advocacy Development, Medimmune

 Michael Walsh works in Advocacy Development at MedImmune-- a Gaithersburg, MD-based biotech company--and is responsible for creating, developing and managing prematurity advocacy networks throughout the country. MedImmune’s Advocacy department is committed to help improve the health and well-being of premature infants. Prior to this role, Mr. Walsh has held several sales and marketing roles at MedImmune as well as Amgen and serves on a number of Boards of Directors, including the Massachusetts March of Dimes.

Chester Schwartz , Vice President of Life Sciences, Collaborative Consulting 

Chester Schwartz is Vice President of Life Sciences at Collaborative Consulting.  He is responsible for the contracting and pricing practice and brings over 30 years of information system experience with the last 20 years focused on life sciences.  Mr. Schwartz has worked with most of the leading pharmaceutical and medical device companies, assisting them in developing the strategic direction and new vision for addressing their contracting requirements. He has developed the strategy and assisted in defining the initiatives and resources needed to achieve the new state of contracting excellence at the same time ensuring government compliance.

In addition to working for a number of global companies devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, Mr. Schwartz  offers expertise in the installation and implementation of various products including (CPCC, CARS/IS and Model N modules).  Mr. Schwartz also has extensive experience in Contract Life Cycle Management (CLM) and IT consulting and management, with a track record of success in introducing and effectively utilizing the newest technologies.   Prior to joining Collaborative,  Mr. Schwartz was the Program Director for the largest Pharmaceutical Company in the world, where his project team completed the planning for the implementation of all components of the Model N system.  Over the span of his career he has assisted clients in implementing solutions that address all aspect of CLM including; Offer Development, Contract Administration, Chargebacks, Rebates, Managed Care and Institution rebates, Government Pricing, Medicaid and Contact Analytics. Much of his work over the past two years has been assisting clients to address the DRA issues affecting the Pharmaceutical community.

About the Organizers

MassBio - MassBio, a not-for-profit organization that represents and provides services and support for the Massachusetts biotechnology industry, is the nation's oldest biotechnology trade association. Founded in 1985, MassBio is committed to advancing the development of critical new science, technology and medicines that benefit people worldwide. Representing over 600 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, research hospitals, and service organizations involved in life sciences and health care, MassBio works to advance policy and promote education, while providing member programs and events, industry information, and services. To learn more, visit: http://www.massbio.org. 

MassBioEd - The Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation, founded in 2001, is a non-profit charitable organization committed to supporting science and biotechnology education in Massachusetts through school programs, workforce training, and lifelong learning.  MassBioEd is closely affiliated with the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and helps the Council in fulfilling its goals to nurture the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) pipeline in Massachusetts. To learn more, visit http://www.massbioed.org. 

Propel Careers - Propel Careers is a Boston based life sciences search and career development firm founded in 2009 to foster entrepreneurship and to cultivate leaders in the life sciences industry.  Propel recognizes the importance of job creation and career development opportunities to the success of the industry as well as to next generation of industry leaders.  The mission of Propel Careers is to make connections that fuel innovation, and we do this through placement, networking, coaching and mentorship.  To learn more, visit http://www.propelcareers.com. 

Sponsor Organization

Collaborative Consulting

Collaborative Consulting is a business and technology consulting firm serving clients across the United States of America. We deliver a comprehensive set of consulting services to clients across multiple industries, focusing on business enablement, information management, technology enablement, and program management. Collaborative service offerings for Life Science are designed to help companies create effective information strategies and capabilities that ensure sustained peak business performance across the commercial enterprise. The Collaborative  teams bring the business and technical expertise necessary to identify, select, and implement world-class solutions that address today’s most challenging business issues in contract and revenue management, government pricing, sales, promotional marketing, and compliance. To learn more, visit, http://www.collaborative.com/