Dr. Rene Labatut, is the Vice President of Global Manufacturing Technology in Sanofi Pasteur, the Vaccine Division of Sanofi Aventis. He received his master in biochemical engineering (1982) from Institut National des Sciences Appliquées of  Lyon, molecular biology DEA (1983) from University of Lyon I, Business and Administration DESS (1983) from Institut Administration des Entreprises de Lyon, and PhD in biochemistry (1988) from INSA Lyon. Dr Labatut, is leading in Sanofi Pasteur, the organization in charge of process transfer from Research & Development to Operations, industrial technology innovation and industrial process performance improvement. He has more than 22 years of experience in biotechnology in research, manufacturing, industrial development, industrial operation risk management and technology development.

Mr. Simard founded XBiotech in 2005. Prior to XBiotech, he was founder and Chief Executive Officer of the therapeutic vaccine developer CTL ImmunoTherapies Corp., headquartered in Los Angeles with over 100 scientists and support staff. Mr. Simard also founded AlleCure Corp., of Valencia, California, a developer of immune-modulating therapies. In 2001, AlleCure and CTL ImmunoTherapies merged to form MannKind Corp., where Mr. Simard served as Corporate Vice President and Member of the Board. Mr. Simard invented the core technologies which form the basis for each of the commercialization programs. Operationally, he has championed an integrated approach to drug development, undertaking R&D, manufacturing and clinical regulatory programs under one roof—which he has used as an effective means to conserve capital and control timelines. Mr. Simard holds a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Saskatchewan and attended graduate studies in Medical Biophysics/Immunology at the University of Toronto. He has numerous patents related to cancer therapy, therapeutic vaccines and therapeutic antibodies, as well as substantial peer-reviewed scientific publications and the textbook “Immune Response Genes”.

Dr. Annelies Onraedt is Global Market Manager for Vaccines at Pall Life Sciences, a Total Solutions provider for the Biopharmaceutical industry. She obtained a PhD in Bioscience Engineering from Ghent University, Belgium, for her study in the field of Industrial Microbiology and Biocatalysis. She then joined Pall as a Biopurification Specialist and has several years of experience in optimizing downstream processing technologies for the vaccine industry, including chromatography, tangential and direct flow filtration.

In her current position as vaccine market manager, she is in frequent contact with the vaccine industry worldwide. She is involved in the development of integrated manufacturing solutions, new technology platforms and strategic collaboration programs. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on latest market and technology trends.

Dr. Zhenping Zhu is currently Executive Vice President, Global Biopharmaceuticals, Kadmon Corporation, New York, and President and CEO of Kadmon China. Prior to joining Kadmon, Dr. Zhu was Vice President and Global Head, Protein Sciences and Design, at Novartis Biologics. At Novartis, Dr. Zhu established and led research groups globally in Basel (Switzerland), Cambridge (US), and Shanghai (China), and was responsible for the discovery, design and selection of novel biologics medicines that address various diseases of high unmet need. Prior to Novartis, Dr. Zhu worked over 12 years at ImClone Systems as Vice President of Antibody Technology and Immunology, and has successfully led research teams that discovered and engineered several novel antibodies that are currently in clinical development for various oncology indications. Dr. Zhu has been working in the biopharmaceutical industry for over 20 years, and has been a leading scientist in biopharmaceuticals area.

Dr. Nathalie Garçon joined SmithKline Beecham Biologicals – now GlaxoSmithKline – in 1990 where she set up and led the vaccine adjuvant and formulation group. She provides leadership within GSK in the field of adjuvants, from discovery to registration and commercialisation of adjuvanted vaccines. Her responsibilities have moved from manager formulation research, to Vice president, head of global research and R&D in North America. She now heads the global adjuvant center for vaccine development. Her expertise in vaccinology extends from research to manufacturing, in particular covering immunology, adjuvant and formulation technologies, analytical methods, animal experimentation and toxicology evaluation and testing.

Dr. Tse Wen Chang received his PhD from Harvard University and did postdoctoral research in M.I.T. After a 4-year stint at Centocor, Dr. Chang cofounded Tanox in Houston, Texas in 1986. In 1987, he invented the anti-IgE therapy, leading to the development of omalizumab (Xolair), which has been approved in most countries for severe allergic asthma. In 1990, he invented the migis approach for isotype-specific targeting of B lymphocytes and discovered a discrete domain of 52 amino acid residues, referred to as CemX, on human membrane-bound IgE. Favorable results have been obtained from a Phase IIa trial on an anti-CemX antibody. Dr. Chang received Honorary Fellow Award from ACAAI in 2004 and Honorary Fellow Award from AAAAI in 2007.

Track 1: Breaking Research on Antibody

Track 5: Antibody Engineering and Production

Track 2: Innovative Tech Platforms for Antibodies

Track 6: Non-Human Applications of Antibodies

Track 3: Antibody Based Drug Discovery and Therapy

Track 7: R & D CRO , CMO, and Outsourcing Strategies

Track 4: Antibodies in Medical Diagnosis

Track 8: Young Investigator’s Forum

ICA-2013 provides an ideal platform to showcase your new technologies and products in China. It is developed to maximize exposure of exhibitors, with coffee breaks and poster sessions for delegates taking place in the exhibition area.

BIT’s 4th Annual International Congress of Antibodies (ICA-2012), held in Beijing International Convention Center (BICC) from March 26-28 in Beijing, China had achieved great success. The theme of the conference was “Wining the Race of Antibody R&D”.

Many honored guests presented at the opening ceremony. As keynote speakers: Dr. Rene Labatut, Vice President, Sanofi Pasteur Inc., France; Dr. Zhengbin (Bing) Yao, Senior Vice President, MedImmune, USA; Dr. Raymond E. Spier, President, The International Society for Vaccines, UK; Dr. Yajun Guo, Professor, Second Military Medical University, China; Dr. Robin E. Butler, Business Development Manager, BTX Harvard Apparatus, USA made excellent presentations and warmly discussed with the audiences at the keynote forum.

Totally, there were 300 participants from more than 40 countries attended ICA-2012. There were 16 sessions following the Opening Ceremony covering 5 fields including Breaking Research on Antibody, Innovative Tech Platforms for Antibodies, Antibody Based Drug Discovery and Therapy-From Early to Late Stage, Antibodies in Medical Diagnosis, Antibody Engineering and Production and the Young Scientists Forum.

After the conference many participants expressed their satisfaction with the content of the congress and had fine memories of Beijing. We believe that with the support and constructive suggestions the next conference will still be even better.