Conference Reports
3rd BioTrinity Conference
3rd BioTrinity Conference, Kassam Stadium, Oxford, UK, 2-3rd April 2009
On an unseasonably warm and sunny Thursday and Friday in April, Oxford United's Kassam Stadium played host to the 3rd BioTrinity conference. Used to the hustle and bustle of hundreds of football fans, The Quadrangle conference centre was instead inhabited by representatives from the local area biotechnology companies, as well as those from further afield, investors and large pharma companies. The brainchild of the Oxfordshire Bioscience Network (OBN) headed by Mr Jon Rees, BioTrinity successfully brought around 500 delegates together with the promise of potential partnering opportunities and helpful workshops, keynote speeches, panel discussions and intriguing company showcases.
With a series of presentations scheduled, delegates were treated to concise descriptions of what particular companies were currently working on and what they hoped to achieve at BioTrinity. Among these, a company new to Pharmaprojects: Adaptimmune, established in 2008, presented information on its enhanced-affinity T-cells. This company engineers T-cell receptor proteins, with a primary target of HIV gag epitopes, to improve the body's response to infection, ensuring an extremely high response to HIV infection and potentially also targeting the majority of escape mutants. Adaptimmune is also planning to use this technology in a cancer-targeting therapy. Another relatively new company to present was Novolytics, a company focusing on the development of lysogenic phages for the treatment of bacterial infections. Its initial project is working on the decolonisation of nasal MRSA, with plans to tackle Clostridium difficile at a later date.
The representative from Circassia gave a short but thorough update on its current pipeline, detailing clinical trial plans for three products which are due to progress from preclinical development within 2009: phase II trials are expected for its ragweed therapy by the end of April, in the summer for the dust mite therapy and in the autumn for the grass pollen therapy. Phase III trials for the most advanced project, a cat allergen therapy, are expected in the first quarter of 2010. All based on the same technology, these therapies are hoped to bring relief to many allergy sufferers. A new formulation for a birch allergy therapeutic was also presented.
Having proved popular last year, Glide Pharma returned to update the delegates on its projects involving the Glide solid dose injector. With an animated demonstration of how the technology works, and an injector available to view, Glide Pharma's presenter went on to explain that they already have a formulation of fentanyl citrate in clinical trials for acute pain, with a formulation of octreotide acetate expected to start clinical testing for acromegaly within the next few months. Delegates were also teased with the prospect of alliances with other organisations on the development of various vaccines and a form of insulin.
Another highly active company appeared to be e- Therapeutics. Having at least eight projects currently in its pipeline, its representative was very positive about its developments, announcing licensing opportunities for the two most advanced products: Viotra for the treatment of depression and pain and Syncovair for the treatment of asthma, both in Phase II trials. Three of its five additional projects are expected to enter clinical trials in 2009, covering a therapy for melanoma (Codexib), a fibromyalgia treatment (Myanease) and an antibiotic for the treatment of C. difficile infections (Clostriban).
Regarding the current financial downturn, several panel discussions covered relevant topics, including why venture capital groups ought to invest in biotech companies, successful fundraising and deal-making in the current climate and culminating in a plenary talk on the BioCentury Economic Forecast for biotech companies in Europe. All of these sessions were packed with guests, interested to know the opinions of the experts and other delegates, and appeared to detail a positive outlook. A press release issued by OBN after the conference confirmed this, stating that "Biotech Investment is Safer than Banks".
All in all, with a successful round of presentations and a large number of private partnering discussions occurring throughout the two days, BioTrinity once again achieved its goal of bringing biotech companies and investors together in the Oxford countryside. Preceded by a golf tournament on the Wednesday and an investor-only dinner, followed by a gala dinner on the Thursday at a prodigious Oxford College hall, the OBN staff, sponsors and project partners delivered a partnering conference with great promise. Having built on the number of attendees in 2008, here's hoping that BioTrinity 2010 improves on this already successful conference.
Rebecca Bridge
Editorial Analyst
