Cell based therapies have been available for many years, but until recently, none have been profitable.  Advanced Tissue Sciences was one of the first skin replacement companies but had problems developing a business around the technology.  It has recently re-emerged as Advanced BioHealing, which is on the cusp of profitability, and looks like it’s got it right.  Osiris has over the years, developed, and now commercialized its mesenchymal “cells in a bottle” and is now marketing product and establishing sales. What lies on the horizon for other cell based therapeutic companies? How can these medically valuable therapies be leveraged to become profitable? What additional challenges do stem cell based therapies face, and last but not least, will embryonic stem cells be a business reality in our time. Both Annemarie Moseley, former CEO Osiris, and Jeanne Bertonis, formerly of Genzyme, have firsthand experience in this space. 

Confirmed panelists:

Jeanne Bertonis

Ms. Bertonis' experience has ranged from early stage start-ups through to successful commercialization of products in, and acquisitions of, publicly traded companies.  She is currently consulting to venture capital and private companies, with a focus on devices, including drug delivery devices and drug/device combination therapies, biomaterials and drugs. In 2006 she served as President and COO of Clera Inc., a private neurology company.  From 2000-2006, she held the position of Chief Business Officer for Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. and in that position oversaw all of the business and corporate development functions, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic collaborations, and marketing. Ms. Bertonis also served as Senior Director, Corporate Development at Genzyme Corporation, and managed the Business Development group for Guidant Corporation's Vascular Intervention Division.  She has additional experience in business and research positions from other large pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly & Company and Biogen, Inc. Ms. Bertonis holds a Master of Management Degree from J.K. Kellogg Graduate School of Northwestern University, a Master of Science Degree in Zoology from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from Vassar College.  

Annemarie Moseley

Currently Dr. Moseley is the acting CEO of Aggregate Therapeutics, Inc, a commercialization effort initiated by the Stem Cell Network of Canada, and now under the oversight of MaRS in Toronto. She is also Chairman of Repair Technologies, a biotech startup in the Bay Area focused on endogenous repair of tissue injury. Previously she worked at Guidant as an internal clinical and regulatory fellow, focusing on initiatives in the area of biologics and device convergence.

Before joining Guidant, Annemarie was the President and CEO at Cognate Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on multiple stem cell technologies, which she founded with Toucan Capital. Prior to founding Cognate, she was President and CEO of Osiris Therapeutics, and has held management roles at Titan Pharmaceuticals, Systemix and Applied Immune Sciences. Dr. Moseley’s experience includes pioneering clinical development of adult stem cell therapies, leading numerous biotech products through IND and IDE filing and managing product development from technology conception through Phase 3 clinical development in the US and Europe.

She received her MD from Baylor College of Medicine, where she was specialized in Internal Medicine and completed fellowships in Genetics and Immunology. She received her PhD in Physiology and Biochemistry from Utah State University. 

Bruce Cohen

Bruce Cohen has spent more than 25 years in leadership positions in life science and high technology companies. He was the founding President and CEO of two early stage biotechnology companies: Cellerant Therapeutics and Acacia BioSciences. He also served as Chief Financial Officer for GeneSoft Pharmaceuticals prior to its merger into Oscient Pharmaceuticals. In addition, he held senior positions in business development and marketing at SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals and Baxter. Bruce was the President and COO of ViTel International, a privately held, pre-internet electronic messaging company and was a management consultant with Monitor Company working in the health care and high technology sectors.

Bruce has an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School, and a BA and MA from Tufts University. He was one of the founders of the Tufts Veterinary School and a co-founder of the Health Professions Information Bureau.

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