Cutting Edge Science at Its Best: Massachusetts Biotechnology Council's ''Discovery Day'' to Unfold on March 8, 2006.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM Expected to Attract Industry, Academic Elite

On March 8, 2006 some of Massachusetts' most prominent and influential leaders in the fields of science, medicine, academia, and business will gather together to offer a glimpse of the future of biomedical science in the region. This year's "Discovery Day Science Symposium," an annual forum sponsored by The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, will focus on "Catalyzing Technologies: Innovative Tools for Biopharmaceutical Success."

The keynote address for the Symposium will be given George M. Church, Ph.D., professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and director of the Lipper Center for Computational Genetics. Notable participants in Discovery Day also include Dr. Phillip A. Sharp, Nobel Prize winner, founding director of the McGovern Institute at MIT, professor at MIT, and co-founder of Biogen, Inc. and Alnyam Pharmaceuticals and Dr. Frank Douglas, executive director of the Center for Biomedical Innovation at MIT and former head of Drug Innovation and Approval for Aventis.

"We are thrilled to have assembled such an impressive array of experts and visionaries for this year's event," stated Thomas M. Finneran, president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. "Along with learning more about the groundbreaking research under way in the region, participants will also be provided with a rare forum to exchange ideas and establish contacts with leaders from the region's academic laboratories, teaching hospitals and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies."

Discovery Day Program Details

The daylong symposium will include a number of scientific panels that will offer in-depth analysis and discussions on the technologies critical to growth and success of the industry. Session highlights include:

--Great Expectations: The Impact of Technologies on Discovery & Development: Sponsored by AstraZeneca - a roundtable discussion on the successes and failures in technology over the past 20 years of drug discovery and drug development.

--Molecules to Models: Technologies for Assessing Function: Today's research organization seeks real evidence as to how well a technology might perform and whether it is appropriate for the application of interest. This session will look at how one can assess, introduce, and integrate a wide variety of genomic, proteomic and other enabling technologies into the research enterprise.

--The Engineering/Biology Interface: From Discovery to Manufacturing: The life science industry is seeing an increasing interdependence between biology and engineering. Typically not thought of as a domain of innovation, pharmaceutical and biological manufacturing is poised to benefit from enabling technologies that adapt to a future in which speed and flexibility are key, manufacturing plants are utilized to full capacity, scale-up is rapid, and the regulatory burden is reduced. Where will the interface between biological research and engineering take us next?

--Molecules to Models: Improving the Odds of Success: Risk is part of the business in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, but nowhere is it more apparent and costly than in the later stages of product development. This session will examine the spectrum of technologies that will enable and improve the efficiency of clinical research.

--Tapping the Data Mine: Researchers and clinicians are becoming increasingly aware that they may be sitting on a potentially enormous wealth of untapped knowledge. This session will look at new approaches to information technology in the life sciences, and its ability to provide meaning to the information we already have in hand.

The Discovery Day Science Symposium takes place on March 8, 2006 at the Sheraton Copley Hotel, Boston. For more information, including agenda, speakers and registration, visit the MBC Web site at: www.massbio.org.

About the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council

The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC), founded in 1985, is a not-for-profit organization that provides services and support for more than 440 companies, academic institutions and service organizations involved in biotechnology and healthcare. The MBC is committed to advancing the development of critical new science, technology and medicines that benefit people worldwide. Based in Cambridge, the organization also works with public leaders to advance policy and promote education while providing member programs and services.