The Microbiome / Microbiota R&D and Business Collaboration Forum
About This Event
Keynote speakers:
Mark Adams, Ph.D., Scientific Director, J. Craig Venter Institute, San Diego
Sarkis K. Mazmanian, Professor of Biology, California Institute of Technology
Dear
The announcement in June that Johnson & Johnson is collaborating with Second Genome, one of the first biotech companies focused entirely on the human microbiome, is, according to Forbes magazine, a turning point at which “big Pharma” money begins to back this new field of research.
The 1-2 kilograms of bacteria living inside, and on the surface of, all human beings - the Human Microbiome - constitutes both another "human" organ and a third protective "immune system" after the innate and adaptive immune systems. This mix of good and bad bacteria, long a subject of academic interest, has been linked to everything from infectious diseases like clostridium difficile to obesity and even mental health. Now that the commercial potential of this field of research is being recognized it is attracting venture capital and other funding.
The developments in research and the commercial possibilities are the subject of The Microbiome/Microbiota R&D and Business Collaboration Forum, which will take place in San Diego on October 7th & 8th 2013.