Researchers to provide investors with a look inside the labs of UW-Madison

Bioscience researchers at UW–Madison will break away from their labs on Nov. 17 to share their work with a gathering of venture-capital investors and business executives attending this year’s Life Sciences and Venture Conference at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.

The conference’s second day is billed as “Inside the Labs of UW–Madison.” The day will begin with a keynote address by Mark Booth, president of Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. of Lincolnshire, Ill., who will set the stage by discussing how the evolving needs of the health-care marketplace influence the search for new therapies.

UW–Madison Chancellor John D. Wiley will then introduce the day’s agenda, which focuses on presentations by university researchers on emerging therapies in cancer treatment, personalized medicine, drug-delivery approach and regenerative medicine, including an update on research progress with neural stem cells and the challenges of regenerating heart tissue. Another panel will provide an overview of range of the university’s bioscience resources, from compound and target identification, to clinical trials.

The Life Sciences and Venture Conference is hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council and supported by the UW–Madison Office of Corporate Relations and numerous corporate sponsors as a way to attract venture-capital and other private investment into Wisconsin’s growing biosciences sector. The conference also will demonstrate why the Madison area has emerged on the national landscape as a center for the biosciences that flows from the life-sciences expertise on the UW–Madison campus.

“‘Inside the Labs of UW–Madison'” will showcase many of the university’s research projects now under way in the life sciences that may someday spawn novel new therapies for a better quality of life,” says Allen Dines, an assistant director of OCR and coordinator of the Nov. 17 program. He points out that many of the university’s research centers and other units involved in the life sciences will be on hand for the conference, providing information about their programs and answering questions in a special UW–Madison pavilion in the lobby area of the conference center.

On Nov. 16, the conference’s opening day, selected Wisconsin and Upper Midwest companies will make presentations and meet with investors. For many firms, participation in the conference has been a key factor for significant growth. During the past 20 years, 196 companies have participated in the conference, with 20 percent receiving venture financing. During the past five years, that percentage grown significantly.

More information on the conference and online registration is available on the Wisconsin Technology Council web site.

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For more information on “Inside the Labs of UW–Madison,” contact Allen Dines at (608) 262-2797 or ajdines@wisc.edu, or Patrick Strickler at (608) 262-7840 or pstrickler@wisc.edu