All times in EST

Debra Lappin of B&D; Consulting will moderate a panel discussion during the Partnering for Cures Forum in New York City on December 14-15, 2010. Debra's panel is called “Harnessing the Serendipity of Science" and takes place on Tuesday, December 14, 2010, from 9:30 a.m. - 10:25 a.m.

While there seems to be growing consensus that the process of medical research and development needs significant rethinking, there remain very good reasons why the search for cures is slow. Science is hard and unpredictable. Many believe the low-hanging fruit has been plucked, and that the more we learn about disease processes the harder the task of intervening in them reveals itself to be. Where are we with our understanding of the basic biology of disease? What are the opportunities and challenges it presents us? Do they require fundamental changes in the R&D; process and culture?

Speakers:

• Harry Johns, M.B.A.
  President and CEO
  Alzheimer's Association
• Gregory Petsko, Ph.D.
  Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry
  Brandeis University
• Heather Preston, M.D.
  Managing Director
  TPG Biotech
• Samuel C. Silverstein, M.D.
  John C. Dalton Professor
  Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University