The Georgia Bio Innovation Summit will welcome patient advocate and visionary strategist Greg Simon, who leads the Biden Cancer Initiative, and Kim McCleary, Acting Executive Director at FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute, as the plenary speakers for the October 24, 2017, event at Cobb Galleria.

Immediately following her remarks, Ms. McCleary will moderate a panel discussion on “Engaging for Success: Patient Centricity Comes of Age” with: Robert K. Coughlin, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and a cystic fibrosis patient advocate, and Jason Spangler MD, MPH, FACPM, Executive Director for Value, Quality, & Medical Policy at Amgen.

The Summit is the largest gathering of life science leaders in the state. According to a 2016 TEConomy report, the bioscience industry in Georgia is sizable and growing, reaching nearly 30,000 jobs across 2,047 business establishments. Georgia’s bioscience and biomedical research complex is large with nearly $967 million in bioscience academic R&D.

As many as 500 CEOs, senior executives, investors, university scientists, physicians, and public policy experts are expected to attend the day-long Summit. In addition to the keynote speakers, the Summit will feature more than 50 experts in panel discussions highlighting the full range of bioscience innovation in Georgia. The day-long program will cover the span of life science sectors including biotech/pharma, medical devices, diagnostics, academic research, agricultural biotechnology, and healthcare IT. Details are available on the Summit website at www.georgiabiosummit.org.

This year’s conference will offer the opportunity to hear about developments in the bioscience start-up community. The Company Investor Presentations features several Georgia-based startups describing their technologies, products and recent developments. To get a glimpse of emerging technologies from Georgia’s universities and companies, stop by the Innovation Stage during the exhibition breaks. The always popular Life Science Leader Chats provide the opportunity to learn from seasoned executives about the skills every entrepreneur needs.

The Summit serves as the only life sciences exposition in Georgia with an Exhibit Hall featuring the latest research, technology and services at companies, universities and other organizations. The Summit also features a Scientific Poster Contest where representatives from Georgia-based academia, research institutes and industry alike will showcase their research.

The event will close with a Casino Night Gala and Silent Auction where attendees can network and raise funds for the Georgia BioEd Institute, which provides K-12 STEM programming in bioscience and medtech throughout the state. Casino Night tickets are available onsite.

Georgia Bio (www.gabio.org) is the state’s private, non-profit life sciences association. Members include pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, medical centers, universities and research institutes, government groups and other business organizations involved in the development of life sciences related products and services.

Editor’s Note: Registration is complimentary for credentialed members of the news media. To request media registration, please contact Maria Thacker at mthacker@gabio.org | 404-920-2042.

Georgia BioMaria Thacker, 404-920-2042mthacker@gabio.org