ELKINS PARK, Pa., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- BioStrategy Partners (BioSP), a virtual incubator for pre-seed and early-stage life sciences companies in the tri-state area, announced that former Governor of Pennsylvania Mark Schweiker and Dr. Hiro Horikoshi, President of Daiichi Sankyo Research Institute will be keynote speakers at First Sightings, a day-long event for emerging life sciences companies at the Friend Center at Princeton University on March 26.
Created by BioSP, the program’s four panels, “Who’s on First? Gathering the Right People around You,” “Intellectual Property: Using your Secrets to Build your Business,” “Building an Operation: Infrastructure, Outsourcing, Managing Growth” and “Funding: How Much is Enough?” are designed to help even the smallest of the area’s burgeoning life sciences firms create a roadmap to success.
“We are delighted that former Governor Schweiker, who now heads the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, is joining us. The life sciences strategy he began implementing as governor has provided support for Pennsylvania’s best and brightest researchers, helping spark the creation of new products and companies. And, as a big supporter of a regional approach to growth, he understands how important it is for young life sciences companies to find the resources they need to flourish in our tri-state community. Dr. Horikoshi, a distinguished researcher, will give our audience valuable insights and credible evidence that what is exciting in their labs can indeed move into the therapeutic marketplace,” said Karen Hanson, BioSP’s Executive Director.
“Large pharmaceutical companies are, more and more, reaching deeply into the biotechnology world to find the technologies and compounds of the future. Our program will help those with early stage science understand the challenges they will face during the exciting roller coaster ride that is the research and development process. By the end of the session, these companies will have both the tools and the professional contacts to help them grow.”
Schweiker has been president and chief executive officer of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce since January 2003, a post he assumed after two years as Pennsylvania’s governor and seven as its lieutenant governor. He began his career in public service as Middletown Township Supervisor and ten years later, was elected Bucks County Commissioner, an office he held for seven years. Earlier in his career, he worked in the private sector, with Merrill Lynch and the McGraw-Hill Companies, and then opened his own management consulting firm. He holds a B.S. from Bloomsburg State College and received his M.A. in administration from Rider University.
Horikoshi founded the Daiichi Sankyo Research Institute (formerly the Sankyo Pharma Research Institute) in 1999, as the global arm of Daiichi Sankyo’s science development activities. Prior to that he created, and headed, the diabetes research group at Sankyo Co., Ltd. A corporate officer of Sankyo Co., Ltd. in Japan, and a Board Member of Daiichi Sankyo Inc. in the U.S., he is also an advisory board member of Thomas Weisel Healthcare Venture Funds. His academic affiliations are: Adjunct Professor at Nihon University, Chancellor’s Associate of University of California at San Diego (UCSD), and Dean’s Advisory Council member for the UCSD Rady School of Management. In 2005, Horikoshi was awarded the prestigious Business Leadership Award from the Japan Society of San Diego and Tijuana for his achievements in the field of research and development. Credited with 30 US patents and author of 60 published scientific articles, his contributions were also recognized in a Proclamation of the California Legislative Assembly in 2006. Horikoshi received a Ph.D. in reproductive physiology from University of Tokyo and a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the Tokyo University of Agricultural Technology in 1966.
First Sightings begins at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 26. For further information, or to register, visit the BioSP website, www.biosp.com, or contact program chair Joanne Gere at jgere@financialarchitecture.com.
Founded in 2004, BioStrategy Partners provides a continuum of services, support and infrastructure to discovery, pre-seed and early-stage life sciences companies in the Greater Philadelphia region that will allow them to grow and thrive. We occupy a unique niche in this Pennsylvania/Delaware/New Jersey tri-state area, specializing in meeting the full spectrum of needs experienced by these very young companies. For further information, visit the BioSP website, www.biosp.com, or contact Karen Hanson at 215/780-1532 or kanson@pco.edu.
CONTACT: Christina Pagano, Pagano & Co. PR
212/213-2851 or paganopr@aol.com
BioStrategy Partners
CONTACT: Christina Pagano of Pagano & Co. PR, +1-212-213-2851,paganopr@aol.com, for BioStrategy Partners
Web site: http://www.biosp.com/
