Wake Forest University Schools of Business to Host Biotechnology Conference

WINSTON-SALEM, NC— Some of the nation’s brightest minds in business, science, law, and medicine will come together Feb. 18-19 at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business for the 2011 Biotechnology Conference.

The Wake Forest University Schools of Business, is hosting the case competition during the conference in which student teams from around the country will compete for $17,000 in prize money. This MBA case competition at Wake Forest is unique because graduate students in law, science and medicine are encouraged to team up with MBAs to develop a comprehensive solution to a current biotechnology business challenge.

Participating universities include: Duke University, University of California Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard Business School, MIT, University of Texas, University of Virginia, and Wake Forest University

Case competition judges are executives from GlaxoSmithKline, Targacept, Inc., TransEnterix, and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

William Hawkins, CEO and Chairman of Medtronic, Inc. will present the keynote address “Changing the Face of Chronic Disease: A Systems Approach to Healthcare Innovation” on Friday, Feb. 18 at 4:00 p.m. at the Worrell Professional Center Auditorium on the Wake Forest University campus. A panel discussion titled “New Strategies to Discovering and Developing Biotechnology” moderated by Justin Catanoso, executive editor of The Business Journal, will immediately follow.

The Biotechnology Conference is a student-run event organized by three co-chairs: Zachary Cary (PhD, MBA ’11), Nancy Rinehart (MBA ’11) and Erik Welker (MBA ’11) and faculty advisor Len Preslar.

“This an extraordinary opportunity for North Carolina, in that some of the brightest minds in the country will be presenting cutting edge solutions to problems that are impacting the state’s biotechnology industry,” said Welker.

The weekend will include networking sessions for students, sponsors and healthcare professionals. Student teams will also have the opportunity to take a tour of Targacept, Inc.

Sponsors of the 2011 Biotechnology Conference and Case Competition are:
Aetna, Inc., Benefit Advocates, Cornerstone Health Care, Moses Cone Health System, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Novant Health, Premier, Inc., Targacept, Inc., TransEnterix, and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

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