Press Releases

Janet Wolfe Will Moderate Panel on the Future of the Biopharmaceutical Industry

WATERTOWN, MA – (BUSINESS WIRE) – January 14, 2009 – Janet Wolfe, Ph.D., President of Wolfe Laboratories, Inc. (WLI), will moderate a panel discussion Wednesday, January 21, 2009 titled “The Biopharmaceutical Industry in our Evolving Economic and Political Climate” at AstraZeneca's Waltham facility.  The event will be sponsored by WLI, AstraZeneca and the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. The panel discussion is open to the public.

The panelists will include industry experts: Bill Huyett, M.B.A., Director at McKinsey & Co.; Una Ryan, Ph.D., O.B.E., President and CEO of Waltham Technologies Inc.; Cecilia Schott, PharmD, M.B.A., Business Development Director at AstraZeneca; and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year, Janet Wolfe, Ph.D., President and Founder of Wolfe Laboratories, Inc.

The discussion will occur amidst a challenging period in the biopharmaceutical industry. Over the next four years, more than 36 blockbuster drugs will lose their patent protections, globalization of the marketplace will swell, and the progress of personalized medicine will become increasingly significant.  These issues are magnified by the economic downturn and the biopharmaceutical industry is seeking expert analysis from industry leaders.

The panelists will review the fundamental economic challenges facing the industry and discuss the need for a new, evolved business model.  They will also examine the effects of President-elect Barack Obama’s pending healthcare reform on the industry, such as government price negotiation, drug importation and decreasing patent lengths.

“It is important for recognized experts to discuss the challenges that we, as an industry, are facing in order to discover ways to plan for the future, with respect to our ultimate goal: bringing lifesaving drugs to patients,” said Janet Wolfe.