Keynote Panel at Bio-IT World Expo to Feature Six Leaders in the Field of "Personal Genomics"


NEEDHAM, MA--(Marketwire - April 14, 2008) - A plenary panel discussion on the exciting field of "personal genomics," featuring six of the most outstanding scientists, physicians and commentators in the field, is among the highlights of the 2008 Bio-IT World Conference & Expo being held April 28 - 30 at the World Trade Center in Boston.

The panel entitled "The Future of Personal Genomics" will take place on Wednesday, April 30, at 8:45 a.m., immediately following a keynote presentation from 23andMe co-founder Linda Avey. Bio-IT World's Editor-in-Chief, Kevin Davies, Ph.D., will moderate the discussion featuring six authorities in the field:

--  Dietrich Stephan, Ph.D., Co-founder, Navigenics
--  Linda Avey, Co-founder, 23andMe
--  George Church, Ph.D., Professor, Harvard Medical School; Co-founder,
    Knome
--  Jeffrey Drazen, M.D., Editor-in-Chief, New England Journal of Medicine
--  Fred Ledley, M.D., Professor and Chair, Bentley College
--  John Halamka, M.D., CIO, Harvard Medical School
    

"There is extraordinary excitement and interest in the field of personal or consumer genomics at the moment," commented Bio-IT World's Kevin Davies. "We are in the first throes of a revolution in medicine and healthcare thanks to the collapsing costs of gene analysis and the dramatic success of late in mapping DNA variants that predispose to common disease. We are thrilled with the caliber of this panel, and anticipate a fascinating, interactive and highly informative session."

Attendance at the keynote panel and keynote presentations is free (until April 18) for pre-registered delegates who sign up for an Exhibit and Keynote pass. Please visit www.bio-itworldexpo.com and click the banner.

Keynote Highlights:

In addition to Linda Avey, Bio-IT World welcomes two other distinguished keynote speakers:

On Monday, April 28, John Reynders, Ph.D., CIO, Johnson & Johnson, Pharma R&D, delivers the opening keynote.

On Tuesday, April 29, Joshua Boger, Ph.D., founder, president and CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, discusses the latest technological issues facing the drug industry.

Session highlights at this year's event include:

Next-Generation Sequencing Data Management:

You'll get practical information about the analysis, assessment, design, implementation, testing, and support needed to bring a research organization from technology adoption to publication in the next-gen world. This session features guest speakers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Broad Institute, Cornell University Biotechnology Resource Center, Harvard-Lipper Center for Computational Genetics, Naval Medical Research Center, Intel, BioTeam, Applied Biosystems, Helicos, Illumina, and Roche.

Integrated Framework for Multiple Myeloma Research:

John Quackenbush, Ph.D., Professor of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will discuss the development of a novel web-based application to support multiple myeloma research and the ROI that has been achieved in terms of both cost and science.

Role of Supercomputing in Life Sciences Modeling & Predictive Bio-simulation: Scientists and technology experts from IBM, Schrödinger Inc., Gene Network Sciences, Accelrys will discuss how supercomputing can be applied to drug target validation, virtual screening & lead optimization, and how modeling and simulation can be integrated with informatics to enable a comprehensive vision of in silico R&D.

Google Approach to Universal Search for Life Sciences:

Google and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals discuss a new technology application of an enterprise-wide data search tool that benefits pharma organizations, improves productivity & collaboration, and provides value.

Now What? Are We Using EDC to Create Its Fullest Possible Business Benefits? Assumptions and questions exist about the inability of organizations fully realizing the larger business benefit that EDC and eClinical trials can bring. Allergan, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Waife & Associates, Inc. will present perspectives and case study examples of successfully leveraging their use of EDC and the actionable knowledge it has created.

For more information on Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, visit the event Web site at www.bio-itworldexpo.com.

About Bio-IT World www.bio-itworld.com

Bio-IT World -- the flagship publication of CHI -- is the leading source of news on technology and strategic innovation in drug discovery, development, and clinical trials. Bio-IT World's focus is increasingly one that explores the tools and results of "predictive biology" as the industry adapts to the new world of "personalized medicine." Bio-IT World has won 34 national and regional awards, more than any other magazine covering the life sciences industry. Bio-IT World was acquired by CHI in 2006 and is part of the Cambridge Healthtech Media Group -- a new group introduced by CHI in August 2007 -- that offers a suite of published resources that include Bio-IT World magazine, numerous topic-specific eNewsletters, and comprehensive, continually updated web sites.

About CHI www.healthtech.com

Founded in 1992, Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) is the industry leader offering the preeminent source of information to the leading researchers and business experts from top pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic organizations. Delivering an assortment of resources such as events, reports, publications and eNewsletters, CHI's portfolio of products include Cambridge Healthtech Institute Events, Pharmaceutical Strategy Series, Insight Pharma Reports, Marketing Services, and Cambridge Healthtech Media Group.

Contact Information: Contact: Kaushik Chaudhuri Cambridge Healthtech Institute (781) 972-5419