About 80 people, including leaders and executives from the life sciences industry and UPMC, along with UPMC Enterprises portfolio companies and staff, were represented at the first Top of Mind for Life Sciences Summit at the Center for Connected Medicine (CCM) earlier this month.
The invite-only Summit, presented by UPMC Enterprises and produced in partnership with the CCM, was held Sept. 11-12 and featured panel discussions on a range of innovative life sciences topics and many networking opportunities for the attendees.
Led by UPMC Enterprises President Jeanne Cunicelli and Executive Vice President Matthias Kleinz, the Summit tackled some of the most pressing issues facing industry, including the role of AI in drug discovery, the future of immuno-oncology, cutting edge treatments for mental health and neurological disorders, increasing access to novel therapeutics, and more.
The audience, which included dozens of leaders from biotech, pharma, venture capital and other parts of the industry, were also treated to conversations on how UPMC is approaching the myriad of challenges facing health care and, in particular health systems, as well as the leading role UPMC is playing to advancing Pittsburgh as a life sciences innovation hub.
The goals of the event, which was the first Top of Mind Summit at the CCM to focus on the life sciences industry, were to increase awareness of UPMC Enterprises’ unique model in the industry, demonstrate our thought leadership across critical health care and industry trends, showcase our portfolio companies, and create opportunities for Enterprises staff and portfolio companies to build relationships.
With those goals in mind, the Summit was judged an overwhelming success. There were 26 organizations represented by attendees and 53 individuals in attendance, not including UPMC executives. Six portfolio companies were represented in speaking sessions.
In addition to emcee and session moderator duties being shared by Cunicelli and Kleinz, other Enterprises leaders and portfolio companies on the agenda were:
- Toren Finkel, a co-founder of Generian and director of the Aging Institute at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh, led a session on expanding the human health span.
- Rob Hartman, senior director at UPMC Enterprises, moderated a session on AI and drug discovery, which also included Gilan El Saadawi, chief medical officer of Realyze Intelligence, as a speaker.
- Mani Mohindru, CEO of Novasenta, and Keir Loiacono, CEO of BlueSphere Bio, were speakers on a panel discussing the future of immuno-oncology.
- Hank Safferstein, CEO of Generian, led a panel on neuroscience and mental health, which included Cerevance CEO Craig Thompson as a speaker.
- Jamie Bauersmith, vice president of UPMC Enterprises, was a speaker on panel that tackled the challenges of ensuring access to novel therapeutics.
- Rob Lin, CEO of Avista Therapeutics, moderated a fireside chat with the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
The CCM, which has hosted a digital health and technology focused Top of Mind Summit since 2017, received many positive comments from attendees, including the following:
“I thought the event delivered on two important fronts: learning from some of the smartest minds on the panels and networking – which was a great opportunity to meet and be introduced to so many similar VCs and pharma folks.”
Planning is underway to make the Top of Mind for Life Sciences Summit an ongoing annual gathering, providing UPMC Enterprises with two exclusive thought leadership events each year in which to develop relationships with industry peers, showcase portfolio companies, and demonstrate UPMC’s leadership across many facets of the health care industry.
