Life Sciences Summit Returning

John Swisher was awarded the Watanabe Life Sciences Champion of the Year Award at last year's summit.

The Indiana Life Sciences Summit kicks off Monday in downtown Indianapolis. The two-day conference at the JW Marriott will feature talks from industry experts, a networking reception and the announcement of the winner of the BioCrossroads New Venture Competition.

BioCrossroads, the state’s life sciences initiative, is hosting the summit which aims to "celebrate life sciences innovation." Among the featured speakers at the summit are Ken Payie, chief operating officer of California-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., June Wasser, executive director of the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, and Joe Singer, chief medical officer of Delaware-based HealthCore. 

Earlier this week, BioCrossroads announced the finalists of the New Venture Competition. The five finalists will be competing for a total of $50,000 in cash prizes.

"Indiana’s life sciences innovation and research continues its strong position with the second highest number of exports in the U.S. and a $63 billion impact on the economy," said Lori LeRoy, vice president of communications for BioCrossroads. "We wanted to create a centralized location that showcases our life sciences activity in one place and promote the efforts of our 1,700 companies, 56,000 employees and university R&D."

Last week, LeRoy wrote a Perspectives article for Inside INdiana Business talking more about the Indiana Life Sciences Summit. You can also find more information on the event by clicking here.