Midwest Biotechnology Impact Featured at Chicago Industry Award Event, Supporting Patient Benefit

SKOKIE, Ill. - June 6, 2013 - PRLog -- Within 400 miles of Chicago there are more than 15,500 biotechnology establishments employing more than 360,000 people. The Midwest Super Cluster, which includes Illinois, along with Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, is the most balanced of biotechnology regions in the United States in terms of distribution of employees and establishments among the various biotech sectors.

         Some of the Midwest’s most prominent leaders in bioscience and related industries will gather at the Standard Club in Chicago on Thursday, June 13, to celebrate the growth of the bioscience industry in the Midwest and to honor Michael Rosen, Senior Vice President of the Forest City Science + Technology Group. Mr. Rosen is a board member and former vice-chairman of IBIO, the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization, and has held executive positions with Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Searle/Monsanto.

         More than 300 industry key influencers are expected to attend the 2013 Cures Within Reach Midwest Bioscience Industry Campaign, which is co-chaired by civic leader Nancy Searle and more than 30 fellow co-chair committee members who are current and former C-suite executives from companies that include Baxter, Abbott, Monsanto, Astellas, Takeda, AbbVie, Pfizer and other organizations from the bioscience industry. Event sponsors include Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Ernst & Young, CannonDesign, Paragon Pharmaceuticals, McGuireWoods and Horizon Pharma Inc.

         The keynote speaker at the event will be Donald Frail, Vice President Science, New Innovation iMed at AstraZeneca, and former CSO of Pfizer's Indications Discovery Unit. Author of the book, “Drug Repositioning: The Business Case and Current Strategies to Repurpose Shelved Candidates and Marketed Drugs,” his presentation at the event will focus on the need to expand rediscovery research to find new treatments and cures to address the needs of underserved patient populations, and will provide perspective on opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to collaborate in the repurposing development process.

         This inaugural event was developed under the leadership of Dr. Bruce Bloom, President and Chief Science Officer of Cures Within Reach, a medical research non-profit organization that has been helping patients since 2005 by repurposing drugs and devices to quickly deliver safe and affordable treatments and cures for diseases and rare disorders.

         “This event is important to many people on many levels,” explained Dr. Bloom. “As a highly respected leader who’s been instrumental in establishing and expanding the Midwest as a hub for advancements in the bioscience industry, Michael Rosen well deserves being honored with the Patient Impact Legacy Award. In keeping with the objectives of the bioscience industry, the vision of this event extends to benefiting thousands of patients through funds raised for medical research.”

         The mission of Cures Within Reach (http://www.cureswithinreach.org/) is to save lives by repurposing drugs and medical devices. Research funding is critical to its success as is the collaboration among multiple stakeholders including philanthropists, research institutions, researchers, disease-specific research funding and patient advocacy groups, industry, media and lay leaders.

         The approach to rediscovery research at Cures Within Reach affords the following advantages over traditional research for a new drug:

§  It’s faster. (Average of 1 to 3 years to impact patients vs. average of 12 to 19 years)

§  It’s less expensive. (< $500K vs. > $1.5 billion)

§  It provides a higher probability for success. (approximately 1 out of 10 vs. approximately 1 out of 10,000)

§  Plus, repurposing existing drugs approved by the FDA:

Minimizes the obstacles of establishing a safety profile for drug interactions
Minimizes the need to educate physicians about usage
Reduces healthcare costs

More information and registration to attend the event can be found at:

http://www.cureswithinreach.org/events/midwest-bioscience-industry-campaign-event.

More information about the Illinois Biotech Economic Impact study can be found at: (http://www.ibio.org/illinoisbiotechreport.html)

Media Contact:

Chuck Strand

Cures Within Reach

708-990-2774

crstrand1@gmail.com