Hurricane, West Virginia-native, renowned physician, inventor and successful medical device entrepreneur Mark Bates, M.D., will keynote the 4th Annual West Virginia Bioscience Summit, to take place January 28, 2014 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Charleston, where he will discuss the successes and challenges he’s faced in working to improve patient outcomes through commercializing his medical innovations.
Dr. Bates is the founder of several successful medical start-up companies and currently is the chief executive officer and founder of translational research company Nexeon MedSystems, Inc., located in Carlsbad California. Nexeon has invented multiple, innovative medical device products which have been spun-out into separate companies or acquired by other businesses.
A professor of medicine and surgery at the WVU School of Medicine and the founder and co-director of the CAMC Vascular Center of Excellence in Charleston, Dr. Bates has been involved in medical innovation for nearly three decades. He holds over 60 US issued and pending patents in the areas of stents, embolic protection, gene therapy, stem cell implantation, regenerative therapy, nanotechnology, spinal cord injury, catheter design and drug delivery.
Dr. Bates has been quoted as saying, “I have always been pulled towards the areas in medicine where there was a true clinical need for creative thinking”. His efforts to date bring life to those words and he is a true West Virginia – and American – success story.
The West Virginia Bioscience Summit will highlight the role and impact of the bioscience industry in West Virginia and the region, showcase research and commercialization efforts taking place at West Virginia universities and private companies, and discuss policies and programs to help nurture the industry.
A of industry leaders, policy makers and subject matter experts will participate in the conference, to include:
- Dr. Paul Hill, Chancellor, WV Higher Education Commission;
- Dr. Scot Remick, Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center;
- Dr. Todd Davies, Marshall Clinical Research Center;
- Mike Green, WV Growth Investment LLC;
- Allie Karshenas, WVU Clinical and Pharmacologic Research Center;
- And, representatives from WV biotech firms, university researchers, and others.
Derek Gregg, chairman of the Bioscience Association of West Virginia (BioWV), said, “A successful life science industry begins with research, which then leads to discoveries. Those discoveries then provide the basis for company development and economic growth for the state. West Virginia is having success but there is much more that can be done to help grow this industry within our borders.”
He continued, “We are excited to have Dr. Bates join us to share his story of medical invention and entrepreneurism. He is a national leader in the field and a true role model for those of us working to move the life science industry forward in West Virginia.”
The event is being sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, Mylan, Fisher Scientific, Amgen, Steptoe & Johnson, Sanofi, the WV Small Business Development Center and TechConnect West Virginia.
BioWV also receives funding through a grant by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.
For additional information or to register, contact Bryan Brown at (304) 546-5500, or visit the website at: www.biowv.org.
