The MBC Annual Meeting
Sheraton Boston Hotel
Program Details
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: The Agenda for Academic Medicine
Mr. Levy will discuss the likely forces on academic medical centers over the next several years, and the implications for the clinical care, research, and education agendas of those institutions. He will address how these changes might affect the relationship between academic medical centers and the biotech community.
A DRUG JUST FOR ME? WHAT THE FUTURE REALLY HOLDS IN STORE FOR PERSONALIZED MEDICINE
Between present media hype about personalized medicine and futuristic fantasies lies the reality of personalized medicine, something our expert panel will explore in depth.
The convergence of molecular diagnostics and therapeutics increasingly offers physicians and their patients more options to the right medicine, at the right dose, to eliminate trial and error medicine, which is what personalized medicine is really all about. Yet, issues remains as to a profitable economic model. For example, molecular diagnostics companies often seek partnerships with big pharma offering to create pull around the drug, produce better outcomes, improve market presence. Big pharma sees a shrinking market, one that does not support corporate growth.
This panel will explore the underlying tensions and promises for opportunity between diagnostics companies and therapeutics companies, and will strive for creative partnership solutions for all stakeholders.
IF YOU BUILD IT, WILL THEY PAY? THE COMING CHALLENGES OF COVERAGE AND REIMBURSEMENT IN THE INNOVATIVE AGE
Moderator: Bob Flaherty, President & CEO, Athena Diagnostics, Inc.
Not long ago, FDA approval for a product meant a company could count on increased revenues and a healthy return on the product's investment. In an era when both regulators and payors are more skeptical than ever, this is no longer the case.
Biotechnology in the 21st century will usher in combinations of seemingly disparate technologies in the pursuit of better therapeutic outcomes. Quantum leaps in information technology and computational power combined with systems biology, nanotechnology, and drug delivery will offer patients new opportunities for improved outcomes.
This promise, however, comes with the high cost and large technical challenges medical innovation imposes upon start-up biomedical companies. This demands careful understanding of how reimbursement may support the revenue model and corporate growth.
Our expert panel will explore the landscape for coverage and reimbursement of new innovative products in a time when concepts like "comparative effectiveness" are coming into vogue, and will discuss how innovation based companies can develop strategies for payors and government reimbursement to support product development.
OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME: HOW MBC MEMBERS CAN BENEFIT FROM THE STATE'S $1 BILLION LIFE SCIENCES INTIATIVE
Launched with great fanfare at BIO 2007 in Boston, the state's ambitious $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative (LSI) is about to become reality. As with any government program, there are questions about access and impact such as: what is available for individual companies and how do they participate? Our expert panel will include both the architects of the law and those charged with implementing it. They will offer specifics of the new law as well as recommendations about how companies should queue up to take benefit of this unprecedented investment of state tax dollars into the life sciences.
Speaker Bios
Peter Abair, Director, Economic Development, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council
Pete Abair has served as Director of Economic Development at MBC since December of 2006. He is a past Director of the Massachusetts Department of Economic Development (2002) and past regional and executive director for the Massachusetts Office of Business Development (2003-2006). He served as Associate Director of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (1999-2002) and Director of the Governor's Office in western Massachusetts for Governors Weld and Cellucci (1996-1999). He was Director of Governmental Affairs for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education (1993-1996). He started his career on the Washington, D.C. staff of the late U.S. Representative Silvio O. Conte of Massachusetts.
Under Pete's direction the MBC has created several innovative programs to support the expansion of the industry in Massachusetts, including the BioSites Initiative, BioReady Community Campaign, MBC Ambassadors program, and the upcoming MBC-Global Conference.
Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University and a Masters in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
A native of Pittsfield, MA, he now resides in Watertown with his wife and three children.
Mara Aspinall, Senior Advisor, Genzyme Corp and Past President, Genzyme Genetics
Mara Aspinall is biotechnology executive with a focus in the areas of oncology, diagnostics and personalized medicine.
For the last seven years, Mara served as President of Genzyme Genetics, a leading provider of diagnostic services in the oncology and reproductive markets. Mara transformed the business from a small specialized player to one of the top five laboratories in the country. Since 2001, Genzyme Genetics has grown at 25% per year, achieving record revenues and profits.
At Genzyme Genetics, Mara created and implemented a new vision and strategy: diversifying the business while setting the industry standard for quality. As a result, the team successfully expanded into growing field of oncology diagnostics through acquisition and organic growth. A key strategic focus was a renewed and disciplined emphasis on diagnostics research and development. The result--increased new product launches to 15+ per year, implementation of five new technology platforms and 100+ peer reviewed publications - advanced Genzyme Genetics to its current leadership position in the industry.
Mara is an active leader in the public policy arena and in the current debate on personalized medicine. She spearheaded outreach initiatives to better educate health care community and policymakers about genetics and diagnostics and how it impacts medical care. She is currently a member of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' Advisory Council on Genetics and the Vice Chairman of the Personalized Medicine Coalition. She is a frequent speaker to national and international patient and industry groups. Most recently, Mara co-authored an article published in the Harvard Business Review titled "Realizing the Promise of Personalized Medicine."
Previously, Mara was President of Genzyme Pharmaceuticals and led that business' transformation from a generics manufacturer to an international leader in specialized pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing.
Mara launched her career at Bain and Company where she focused on strategy implementation work for health care and information companies.
Mara is active in the Boston community, focusing on two issues - the fight against cancer and the expansion of educational opportunities for your children. Mara also is Chairman of the Board of Predictive Biosciences, a Massachusetts venture-backed company focused on a new generation of highly accurate urine based cancer diagnostics.
Scot E. Butcher, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps, LLC
Scot Butcher is a Managing Director in the Boston office of Duff & Phelps, LLC. Scot is an area leader of the firm's Business Incentives Advisory (BIA) practice which provides comprehensive services to advise and assist companies with the expansion or relocation of their facilities, operations and workforce.
Scot's primary focus offers expertise in business incentives negotiation and implementation, tax credit review, and site selection to assist clients in reducing costs and increasing return on capital and human investments. Scot is recognized as one of the nation's leading site selection, business incentives, and public finance professionals. He offers more than 15 years of experience in site selection, business incentives, tax planning, and finance and has served in both government and private sector consulting roles. Scot has supervised site selection and business incentives advisory projects for Fortune 500 companies in the consumer products, financial services, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries and as secured more that $300 million of federal, state and local incentives for those projects.
Prior to joining Duff and Phelps, Scot worked for more than 11 years at the public accounting firms of KPMG, LLP and BDO Seidman, LLP and built a national business incentives and site selection practice while serving as a tax partner for BDO Seidman, LLP. While at KPMG, Scot was a lead author of the 2004 CEO's Guide to International Business Costs/Competitive Alternatives Study.
Scot's additional experience includes consulting with economic development agencies to improve states' competitiveness. He has designed economic development programs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and State of Rhode Island and has testified before state and federal agencies and Congressional committees.
Scot has a B.A. in Finance from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
Elan Ezickson, Chief Business Officer, AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Elan Ezickson joined AVEO in 2003 as Chief Business Officer. Mr. Ezickson leads AVEO's commercial functions, including business development, market development, program management, manufacturing, intellectual property, corporate legal affairs, and licensing. Prior to joining AVEO, Mr. Ezickson spent nine years at Biogen, from 1994 to 2003, where he most recently served as President of Biogen Canada. In this role he was responsible for the marketing and sales of AvonexTM and the development of Biogen's pipeline products in Canada. Previously, Mr. Ezickson served in Biogen's research and development organization as Program Executive, and as Associate General Counsel in Biogen's legal department where he was responsible for technology licensing, development collaborations and regulatory affairs. Prior to joining Biogen, Mr. Ezickson was an attorney at the Boston law firm of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., where his practice focused principally in the area of technology and product licensing, corporate partnering and private and public equity financings.
Mr. Ezickson holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law.
Robert E. Flaherty, President and Chief Executive Officer, Athena Diagnostics, Inc.
Mr. Flaherty is President and Chief Executive Officer of Athena Diagnostics, Inc. a subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. Athena Diagnostics, one of the largest specialty commercial reference laboratories, focuses on identifying, developing and marketing innovative and proprietary diagnostic testing services for neurological, endocrine and kidney disorders.
Mr. Flaherty held the same position in Athena's predecessor, Genica Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a venture capital financed company, which was acquired by Athena Neurosciences, Inc., a NASDAQ listed neuropharmaceutical development company, in February 1995. In July 1996, Athena itself was acquired by Elan, plc, a publicly traded, New York Stock Exchange company based in Ireland engaged in advanced drug delivery technology development and in pharmaceutical discovery, development, and marketing. In December 2002, management and Behrman Capital L.P. purchased all of the outstanding stock of Athena Diagnostics from Elan in a leveraged buyout. Fisher Scientific International, now merged with Thermo Electron Corporation, purchased the company in April 2006.
Prior to joining Genica in 1992, Mr. Flaherty held a series of senior general management and marketing positions at Becton Dickinson & Company, a multinational medical technology company.
Mr. Flaherty was President of the Becton Dickinson Medical Division, the largest operating unit of Becton Dickinson & Company. Becton Dickinson Division developed, manufactured, and marketed a wide variety of medical supply items to hospitals, alternate care sites and government agencies worldwide.
Mr. Flaherty was also President of Becton Dickinson VACUTAINER Systems, an operating unit in the Company's Diagnostic Sector and had been appointed Vice President of Sales & Marketing of that division at the time it was being formed within the company.
He joined Becton Dickinson in 1976 as the Marketing Director for Medical Technique Products and subsequently was promoted to Marketing Director for Laboratory Products.
Prior thereto he held a series of positions with C.R. Bard, Inc., in product management and international sales and marketing management for the company's surgical and cardiovascular operating units both within and outside the United States.
Mr. Flaherty began his career as a manufacturing engineer for Procter & Gamble. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University and a Master in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.
Mr. Flaherty is a member of the Board of Directors of AngioDynamics, Inc. a NASDAQ company, which develops and markets products to the interventional radiologist, Xtent, Inc., also NASDAQ listed, which has developed unique stent devices for coronary blockages, and Repromedix, Inc., a privately held commercial testing laboratory providing testing services in the field of reproductive medicine. He is also on the Board of the Chernobyl Children's Project (USA), a charitable organization assisting children afflicted by the Chernobyl nuclear explosion.
Mason Freeman, M.D., Clinical Director of Adult Medical Genetics, Massachusetts General Hospital
Mason Freeman, MD is Chief of the Lipid Metabolism at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Trained in internal medicine and endocrinology, Dr. Freeman has spent the past twenty years studying the trafficking of cholesterol into and out of macrophages. He founded and still directs the Lipid Clinic at MGH and is an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of lipid disorders. In 2005, Dr. Freeman took a sabbatical from Harvard to work as Vice-President and Global Head of Translational Medicine for Cardiovascular, Diabetes, and Metabolic Diseases at the Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research in Cambridge, MA. In this role, he and his translational medicine team were responsible for designing the early development programs for drugs affecting hypertension, diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis and lipid disorders. On returning to MGH in 2007, he assumed the dual roles of Director of the Genetics Enters Medicine trials in Partners and Director of Translational Medicine at MGH. Dr. Freeman received his A.B from Harvard College, M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, and did post-doctoral training in cell biology and lipid metabolism at MIT.
Gautam Jaggi, Senior Manager, Ernst & Young Global Biotechnology Center
Gautam Jaggi is a Senior Manager with Ernst & Young's Global Biotechnology Center in Boston. He is the Managing Editor of Beyond Borders, Ernst & Young's annual report on the state of the biotechnology industry. In this capacity, Gautam is the principal author of most of the articles in the report and oversees much of the data analysis.
Gautam has over 12 years of experience at Ernst & Young, where he has provided financial and economic services to a spectrum of life sciences clients. This includes benchmarking analysis, public policy analysis and strategic planning assistance for public-, private- and nonprofit-sector clients. His work on life sciences public policy issues includes an economic and fiscal impact study for the Biotechnology Industry Organization on The Economic Contributions of the Biotechnology Industry to the U.S. Economy.
Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Gautam worked at the Institute for International Economics, where he conducted economic analysis and wrote on public policy issues related to international trade and finance in the Asia-Pacific and North America.
Gautam writes and speaks extensively on the biotechnology industry, covering emerging trends and their implications for the life sciences industry. He is a Contributing Editor to The Journal of Biolaw & Business and is on the Editorial Board of Scrip's BioPartnering Magazine. He has a B.A. in Economics from Vassar College and an M.A. from the University of Southern California.
Paul Levy, President & CEO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Paul F. Levy was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston in January 2002. BIDMC is one of the nation's preeminent academic health centers, providing state-of-the-art clinical care, research, and teaching in affiliation with Harvard Medical School. Licensed for over 600 beds, BIDMC annual revenues are over $1.2 billion. Previously, Mr. Levy was the Executive Dean for Administration at Harvard Medical School, where he was responsible for administrative, budgetary, and facility issues, as well as community and governmental relations. He was also involved in coordinating collaborative ventures between HMS and its affiliated hospitals. Before joining Harvard Medical School, Paul Levy was Adjunct Professor of Environmental Policy at MIT, where he taught infrastructure planning and development and environmental policy for seven years. He also maintained an independent consulting practice, providing strategic, negotiation, and regulatory advice to firms in the energy, water, and telecommunications arenas.
Mr. Levy has served as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Chairman of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and Director of the Arkansas Department of Energy. At the MWRA, he had primary responsibility for the "Boston Harbor Cleanup," one of the largest pollution control projects in the world. In operating the water transmission system for 46 communities at the MWRA, Mr. Levy carried out an aggressive demand management program which decreased water consumption by 15% over a three-year period. As Chairman at the MDPU, Paul Levy regulated the electricity, telecommunications, natural gas, and water utilities in Massachusetts. While at the Arkansas Department of Energy, Mr. Levy directed energy programs, planning, policy and advocacy for the State, including such areas as energy conservation, renewable and fossil energy resource development, and regulatory and legislative matters.
Mr. Levy is the author if numerous articles in a variety of fields and co-author of Negotiating Environmental Agreements (Island Press, 1999). He is author of a blog entitled "Running a Hospital," and in that regard is one of very few hospital CEOs to share thoughts publicly about hospitals, medicine, and health care issues.
Mr. Levy is a member of the MIT Corporation, and serves also on the boards of ISO-New England, the Risk Management Foundation, and the Celebrity Series of Boston. He coaches and referees youth soccer, plays on an adult team, and also enjoys bicycling and woodworking.
Daneil O'Connell, Secretary, Office of Housing and Economic Development, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Dan O'Connell is an attorney and a former real estate developer with extensive management experience. He has worked in federal, quasi-public and private institutions in Boston and Washington, DC.
In December, 2005, Dan joined Meredith & Grew as an Executive Vice President, Partner and senior member of the firm's Development and Advisory Services Group.
From 1998 to 2005, as a Principal in the Development Services Group at Spaulding & Slye Colliers, Dan provided strategic counsel and execution capabilities to governmental, institutional and corporate clients. Dan was in charge of several large-scale permitting and development projects, including: Fan Pier, Boston, Massachusetts; North Point, Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, Massachusetts; and, the Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Dan also served as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency (now MassDevelopment), the Massachusetts quasi-public development finance agency, and as the Director of Planning and Development for the Massachusetts Port Authority.
For eleven years, Dan was a real estate attorney with the Boston and Washington, DC law firm of Gadsby & Hannah, including serving as Managing Partner of the firm. Dan also was the first Chief of Staff for Congressman Edward J. Markey, D.-Mass.
Dan has been a guest speaker on "The Permitting and Public Approval Process" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Real Estate Development.
Dan served in 2006 as a Commissioner of the Massachusetts Legislative Commission on Metropolitan Beaches.
Dan is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Massachusetts and District of Columbia Bars.
Douglas E. Onsi, Esq., Venture Partner, HealthCare Ventures
Doug Onsi is a Venture Partner of HealthCare Ventures. Prior to joining HealthCare Ventures in 2007, he served as Vice President, Campath Product Operations & Oncology Portfolio Management and as Vice President, Business Development at Genzyme Corporation. Before joining Genzyme, Mr. Onsi was Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Business Development of TolerRx, Inc., a company in which HealthCare Ventures was the lead investor. Prior to TolerRx, he held a senior business development position at LeukoSite, Inc., another HealthCare Ventures portfolio company, which was merged with Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He has also practiced corporate law at Bingham Dana LLP.
Mr. Onsi received his J.D. degree from University of Michigan Law School and B.S. degree in biology from Cornell University.
Bruce Quinn, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Health Policy Specialist, Foley Hoag LLP, formerly the Contractor Medical Director for the California Medicare Part B Program
Dr. Quinn practices within the firm's Government Strategies practice, where he focuses on Medicarecoverage and payment matters for new technologies. Bruce is a national leader in the areas of Medicare coverage and payment, claims and billing, and Medicare contractor reform processes. Dr. Quinn works with companies, providers and venture capital investors to develop strategies for Medicare payment for new technologies. A large part of this work is on local and national coverage decisions. Bruce focuses, in particular, in the emerging field of molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine. He also advises clients on Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) reform and its effect on payment policy.
Before serving in the Medicare Part B program, Bruce was a physician executive in the Health & Life Sciences division of Accenture and was a clinician-scientist at Northwestern University School of Medicine, leading pathology research for Northwestern's NIH-funded Alzheimer Research Center. He also held academic positions at New York University School of Medicine and UCLA Center for Health Sciences.
Michael J. Rodrigues, State Representative, 8th Bristol District of Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
State Representative Michael Rodrigues has spent a lifetime serving the communities of Westport and Fall River through his family business and legislative position. First elected in April of 1996 in a special election, January 2001, Michael was also appointed by Speaker Thomas Finneran as a member to the House Committee on Ways and Means. Michael then served six years as Vice-Chair and two years as Chairman of the former Joint Committee on Commerce & Labor. In January 2005, Michael was appointed by the new Speaker of the House of Representatives Salvatore M. DiMasi as Chairman of the newly formed Joint Committee on Labor & Workforce Development. In 2007 Representative Rodrigues was appointed as Chairman to the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure.
Before being elected, Michael ran his family's business, ABC Floor Covering, in Westport. Since being elected, Michael has given up the day-to-day operations of the business in order to perform his legislative duties full-time and be available to his constituents. Michael had been active in Westport's local government through his involvement with the Westport Finance Committee. Michael was a member of the committee for seven years, from 1987-1994, and chairman of the committee from 1992-1994.
He co-founded and incorporated the Westport Community Education Foundation in 1992. Michael continues his involvement with a variety of civic organizations which include: the Westport Lions Club, the Westport Democratic Town Committee, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Westport Business to Business, Massachusetts Legislators Association, Interfaith Council of Greater Fall River, Portuguese American Scholarship Foundation, National Conference of State Legislators, the Portuguese-American Civic League, and Appointed to the State Workforce Investment Board. Michael serves as a member of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Alumni Association Board of Directors, and currently serves as their President.
Michael is an alumnus of Southeastern Massachusetts University ('83) and Bishop Stang High School ('77). A lifelong resident of Westport, Michael resides with his wife Patricia and two children, Ian and Mayka on Sanford Road. Michael's personal interests include golf, skiing, and spending time with his family.
Michael has received numerous awards over the past years for his dedication and services. A few of them include, 2000 Legislator of the Year from International Trade Assistance Center (ITAC), and MA Police Association. Appreciation Award from MASS Skills USA-VICA for 2000, 1999 &1998. Legislator Leadership Award from Statewide Coalition for Juvenile Firesetter Program 1999 & 1998. Friends of PACE (Parents Alliance for Catholic Education) Award 1999.
John M. Taylor, Executive Vice President for Health, Biotechnology Industry
John M. Taylor is the Executive Vice President for Health at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Prior to joining BIO, Mr. Taylor was Abbott's Divisional Vice President for Federal Government Affairs. He was formerly the Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs at the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In that position, he directed the Office of Regulatory Affairs' headquarters and field operations. Mr. Taylor served in this role from 2002 to 2005.
In May 1991, Mr. Taylor received his law degree from the College of William and Mary. In September 1991, he began his career with the FDA. From 1991 to 1996, he served as an Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement in FDA's Office of the Chief Counsel. In the Office of the Chief Counsel, he was responsible for all phases of criminal and civil litigation, involving violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and other federal laws. From 1993 to 1995, he also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland. In 1996, he moved to the Office of the Commissioner and became the Commissioner's Senior Advisor for Regulatory Policy. In the summer of 1999, he became the special assistant to the Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. From April 2000 through August 2000, he served as the Acting Director of the Office of Compliance in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. In August 2000, Mr. Taylor became the Director of the Office of Enforcement where he served for two years before accepting the position of Associate.
Jack M. Wilson, Ph.D., President, The University of Massachusetts
Jack M. Wilson was named President of the five-campus, 60,000-student University of Massachusetts on March 24, 2004. He had served as interim President since September, 2003. Previously, he had served UMass as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and as founding CEO of UMassOnline. He is a tenured Professor of Management at UMass Amherst.
Prior to arriving at UMass, Wilson was the J. Erik Jonsson '22 Distinguished Professor of Physics, Engineering Science, Information Technology, and Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he also had served as a Dean and interim Provost.
As the CEO of UMassOnline, he helped to build the system-wide initiative into one of the largest externally directed online programs in the United States, with 64 graduate and undergraduate degree and certificate programs now serving more than 33,000 enrollees.
Wilson is nationally and internationally known for his leadership in the reform of higher education programs, winning the Theodore Hesburgh Award, the Boeing Award, and the Pew Charitable Trust Prize for his innovative programs. He was awarded an Outstanding Civilian Service Medal by the U.S. Army for service to the Army Education program. He is a Fellow of American Physical Society, and has served as a national officer of the Physical Society, American Institute of Physics, and the American Association of Physics Teachers. He has also served as a member or chair of several National Academy of Science and National Research Council study committees and task forces.
Wilson was the founder, CEO, and Chairman of the LearnLinc Corporation, founded in 1993 as a spin-off of his university research. After several mergers he formed the publicly traded (NASDAQ) Mentergy Corporation, leaving the company in the next year.
Wilson's expertise in building links between higher education, government and business led to his becoming the co-founder of the Paul Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship as well as other programs. He has served as a consultant to many computing and communications firms including IBM, AT&T, Lucent, Hewlett Packard, and Boeing Flight Safety International.
Wilson earned his bachelor's degree at Thiel College in 1967, his master's degree in 1970 and his doctorate in 1972 in Physics both from Kent State University.
Wilson lives with his wife Judi and their two children, John and Jessica in Westboro, Massachusetts. He also has two grown daughters.
Rina Wolf, MHA, Vice President, Reimbursement & Payor Relations, RedPath Integrated Pathology
In her role of Vice President, Reimbursement and Regulatory Affairs at RedPath, Rina is calling on over 20 years in the healthcare arena, the last 13 of which have been spent in the clinical laboratory industry. This is the third laboratory start-up for Rina. At RedPath, Rina is responsible for creating and managing all billing activities and policies, Patient Advocacy Programs, public and private payor coverage and contracting, and is the liaison to the industry and appropriate entities re regulatory concerns that are relevant to RedPath. Rina's expertise is creating a value based pricing and coverage environment for new molecular testing technologies.
Prior to joining RedPath, Rina was Director of Reimbursement and Payor Relations for Genomic Health, Inc., the creators of Oncotype DX. Oncotype DX is the first test that successfully utilizes gene expression profiling to assess 10 year risk of recurrence for breast cancer patients. At Genomic Health, Rina helped to develop reimbursement strategies and programs that led to positive coverage policies with major 3rd party payors, as well as a favorable Local Coverage Determination from Genomic Health's Part B Medicare Carrier, NHIC, and contributed to establishing Oncotype DX as a model for value based pricing for a clinical laboratory test. Rina's role at Genomic Health also included all contracting activities with payors and clients.
Rina's first position in the clinical laboratory arena was with the former Endocrine Sciences, which became a part of Esoterix, now LabCorp. At Endocrine Sciences, she began her career as a field sales representative. After identifying managed care relationships as a key to continuing success and viability in a changing environment, she went on to create contracting opportunities and in network relationships with many payors. As Endocrine Sciences became part of Esoterix, Rina served as Vice President of Reimbursement and Contracts and was responsible for relationships and contracts with 3rd party payors, Group Purchasing Organizations and key accounts. At Esoterix, Rina also was a member of the Sales and Marketing management team that was formed to help direct the integration of all the Esoterix companies.
Formerly, Rina worked at both Schering Plough and Searle Pharmaceuticals as a hospital and managed care specialty sales representative. She is a former President and board member of the California Clinical Laboratory Association and is an active participant on RedPath's behalf with ACLA and the Coalition for 21st Century Medicine.
Rina has a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA and a Masters of HealthCare Administration
Barry G. Zallen, M.D., FAAP, Medical Director, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Barry G. Zallen, M.D., Medical Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) earned his A.B. in Biology at Brown University, and his M.D. at Northwestern University Medical School. Dr. Zallen did his pediatric residency at Boston Floating Hospital and at Children's Hospital in Boston. He also completed a fellowship in General and Developmental Pediatrics at Children's.
Following a few years on the faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Dr. Zallen joined Harvard Community Health Plan (now Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates), as a pediatrician. He was a medical director for 10 years before joining BCBSMA in 2000.
Dr. Zallen's clinical interests include developmental and behavioral pediatrics, and genomics. His responsibilities at BCBSMA include the development of evidence-based medicine incentive and safety programs as the basis for improving quality and reducing costs. He also leads BCBSMA efforts related to genomics.
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