Alessandro Di Rocco

(Department of Neurology, New York University School of Medicine)

Experienced from an American academic prospective, Pharma Finance 2008 was an important and revealing forum of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry in Italy. While the channels linking university, biotechnology incubators, industry, government and finance are well established and structurally effective in the US, Italy and other European countries have only recently begun to develop a physical and entrepreneurial infrastructure to propel and support biotechnology.

Italy has a long tradition of excellence in the pharmaceutical industry, where many major pharmacological agents and therapeutic devices were first developed. Yet, while top international medical and scientific journals continue to record the prolific intellectual life of Italian researchers, this richness has so far failed to sustain a life science industry, at least in part because of the lack of proper technology transfer legislation and an overall underdeveloped biotechnology incubators.

But as dynamically demonstrated at the Pharma Finance meeting, the landscape is changing, with a first rate biotechnology industry quickly developing in Italy and in the rest of Europe. In Italy in particular much of the new impetus to the life science industry is channeled through regional government agencies that not only address the industry infrastructure but also actively dispense seed funding and promote partnership with private and institutional investors. A most important example is Regione Lazio that has developed one of the most dynamic biotechnology government agencies in Europe, leading within a short few years to the creation of a functioning biotechnology network of academic research institutes and start-up companies that now collaborate to major projects in nanotechnology, neuroscience, and other fields of biological sciences.

I have been in many conferences, but I had never experienced the coming together of individual of such different background and expertise, as I did at Pharma Finance in Rome. With unexpected ease, bench scientists, clinicians, government officers, industry, and investors truly dialogued, and in some cases created the basis for new partnerships or collaborations.

I have no doubt that this mixing of talents and energies will help flourish in Italy an industry that while still in its infancy seems to have all the creative resources and the support to become an international leader. More meetings like Pharma Finance 2008 will be instrumental for this growth.

Jeff Morhet

(Chief Executive Officer, InNexus Biotechnology Inc.)

"I really enjoyed the recent conference in Italy and thought it was very beneficial to InNexus. Thanks again for your assistance and please let us know when and where the next one will be held."

Dror Melamed, Ph.D., MBA

(Vice President, Operations, InSight Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.)

I would like to thank you again for the excellent meeting you have organized and your kind hospitality. It has been really nice making good business with real pleasure.

Benjamin Li, Md. PhD.

(Chief Executive Officer, Lee's Pharmaceuticals Holdings Limited)

Compliments for the organization and the success of the Pharma Finance 2008. We thank you again for the very good opportunity to participate. We had a good response. Thanks, Thanks, Thanks and Best Regards.

Richard Baxter

(Managing Director, Fortress Investment Group, LLC)

I thought the conference was great, provocative and definitely helped put us in touch with potential new business. Thank you!

Tony Fiorino, MD, PhD

(President and Managing Member, Alchimia Partners)

"The Pharma Finance 2008 conference was one of the better conferences I have attended in some time. It was a great success for me in multiple ways - I met with several companies of great interest and have already followed up with one of them, Wetware, developing very interesting diagnostic products; I was able to network with other European investors looking to deploy capital in biotechnology, and finally I developed relationships with several service providers that may prove to be of great help to me, most notably Rhonda Greenapple with Reimbursement Intelligence. All in all, it was a most productive two days, in a fabulous setting and hosted most graciously by Leonardo Zangani and Claudio Panzarella."

Riccardo Carbucicchio

(Head of Business Development and Licensing, Novartis Pharma)

"The Zangani Investor Community exceeded my expectations. I had an interesting meeting, entered in contact with a differentiated pool of people, and last but not least, I had fun. I found several cultural inputs helpful to pursue my business objectives, and exposing the participants to a broad spectrum of contacts extremely diversified thus offering the possibility to expand networks, fostering new opportunities."

Marco Mochi

(Executive Business Development, Sigma-Tau SpA)

"The Zangani team is well organized, and has effective networking. Excellent quality of the services, and a good introduction to the emerging world of Biotech Companies and the Financial Community. His input on international licensing and brought great opportunities to Sigma-Tau and his clients."

Dr. Christopher Paige

(UHN – University Health Network)

Pharma Finance – A Canadian perspective

Pharma Finance 2008 was a great opportunity to see one of Italy’s pharma/biotechnology growth regions, Lazio, in action. The collection of participants drawn from government, industry, financial and academic sectors, brought together in an intimate and interactive setting, provided a base for stimulating dialog on many topics. While the Lazio region served as the centerpiece for this conference the fact that the participants were drawn from all over Europe and North America increased the overall impact of the conference in particular for those who made the journey from Canada.

The many good talks and formal sessions notwithstanding, it was clear that the real action was taking place at the B2B meetings. The organizers of Pharma Finance 2008 did an exceptionally good job at making sure that the participants were able to efficiently and effectively use their time to meet companies that could have an impact on their own business plans and strategies. The B2B meeting area was a buzz of activity – with an ever present espresso bar strategically located to encourage discussion and deal making. The breath of activities represented by the companies, from private equity, to professional service, to health informatics, to clinical trials to novel therapeutics to medical tests and devices to environmental systems was astonishing.

Mr. Mario Piccinin

(Partner, Ernst & Young LLP)

Overall I found it to be well organized, with a number of opportunities to network.

I was able to make some contacts with an Italian Law Firm, NCTM, that have clients that do work in Canada (in the renewable energy space). This was a relationship that I would like to further together with Rob Ford at Gowlings.

Great contacts with the Canadian delegations that I can continue to develop in Canada, as well as some American companies associated with Leonardo Zangani.

Mr. Robert D. Ford

(Lawyer, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP)

I found Pharma Finance a very good event and made some strong connections.