Speakers included:

Charles Gardner, Associate Director, Health Equity, Rockefeller Foundation
Julian Ho Wai Kit, Regional Director, Eastern U.S., Singapore Economic Development Board
Madhu Kannan, International Division, NYSE; Janet Lewis, Asia pacific Vice president, Nasdaq
Cong Li, Hua An Fund Management Company, Shanghai, China
Dennis Purcell, Senior Managing Partner, Persus Soros BioPharmaceutical Fund, L.P.
Eugene Rzucidlo, Greenberg Traurig LLP
James Shapiro, Senior Managing Director, Galileo Global Advisors
Gurinder Shahi, CEO, BioEnterprise Asia; Mollie Shields-Uehling, President, Shields-Uehling Associates
Mel Spigelman, Director of Research and Development, TB Alliance for Drug Development
Mary Stober, President, Global Project Resources, LLC

On June 3, 2004, the Asia Society and New York Society of Security Analysts, in cooperation with Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), hosted Asian Biotech: Beyond Wall Street. The afternoon event represented a collaborative effort of Asia Society’s Business Programs Department and the Society’s new initiative, AIDS in Asia. This three-paneled program explored the present and potential investments made by governments, corporations, and those involved in venture capital, in Asian biotechnology.

Gurinder Shahi, CEO of BioEnterprise Asia, delivered the keynote address, Biology Century Meets Asian Century, which introduced the audience to the biobusiness landscape in Asia and the means by which foreign investors have tapped into profitable biotech ventures.

The first panel, Private Equity: The New Deal – Structure and Expectations, included dealmakers Eugene Rzucidlo, Julian Ho Wai Kit, and Mary Stober, and identified venture capital trends—such as cross-border deals, changes in the nature of investment, investor expectations, and intellectual property—for biotech companies. Panelists also discussed the long-term implications of these trends for products and markets.

In the second panel, Public Markets: Alternatives for Investing in Asian Companies, panelists Madhu Kannan, Janet Lewis, Cong Li, and James Shapiro elucidated how Asian companies are adapting to the requirements of listing on western exchanges, and what investors need to know to gain access to promising pharma/biotech companies on Asian Exchanges.

The connection between foreign investment in Asian Biotech and advancements in tackling regional and global health threats was emphasized in the third panel, Beyond Wall Street: Biotech’s Promise. Panelists Charles Gardner, Mollie shield-Uehling, Mel Spigelman, and Gurinder Shahi focused on how the biotech community can overcome traditional challenges of working in this market and gain the financial investments that are necessary to tackling diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

To request speaker presentations, please contact Elizabeth Williams, Program Officer, AIDS in Asia.

Elizabeth Williams
Program Officer
AIDS in Asia

Email: ewilliams@asiasociety.org
Phone: +1.212.327.9360