Autoimmune: Is the Jury Still Out on Gout?

Tuesday, February 10th
12:30 - 1:40 pm
West Foyer

With no new treatments approved since 1959 and currently available therapies hindered by lack of efficacy and low compliance, gout, or metabolic arthritis, has recently garnered attention from biotech investors. Two new drugs to treat gout have demonstrated efficacy and await FDA approval in 2009, but questions regarding safety remain.  If approved, how will the availability of new drugs change the treatment landscape?  Listen to companies at the forefront of gout drug development as well as experienced rheumatologists discuss the future of this dynamic therapeutic landscape.

Moderator

• Kimberly Lee, DO; Senior Healthcare Research Analyst, Wedbush Pacific Growth Life Sciences

Panelists

• Michael A. Becker, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Section of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine; University of Chicago School of Medicine
• Allan Gibofsky, MD, JD; Professor of Medicine and Public Health and Co-Director of Center of Biologic Therapy, Weill Medical College of Cornell University
• Barry D. Quart, PharmD, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director; Ardea Biosciences, Inc.
• Robert J. Terifay, Senior Vice President, Commercial; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Michael A. Becker, MD; Dr. Becker is Professor of Medicine in the Section of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago School of Medicine.  Dr. Becker's acedemic research is focused on the regulation of purine and pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis, with a particular interest in genetic and biochemical mechanisms, underlying the production of the key allosteric regulatory substrate PRPP.  His clinical research interests include gout, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and purine metabolic disorders.  Dr. Becker recieved his medical degree in 1965 from the University of Pennsylvania, completed his residency in Internal Medicine in 1970 at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis and completed a fellowship in Rheumatology in 1972 from the University of California.  Dr. Becker is world-renowned for his research on purine metabolism and expertise in clinical gout research and is active in clinical trials reseach for novel therapies for gout.

Allan Gibofsky, MD, JD; Dr. Gibofsky is Professor of Medicine and Public Health and Co-Director of the Center of Biologic Therapy at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York. He is also Adjunct Professor of Law at the Fordham University School of Law and Attending Rheumatologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery and New York Presbyterian Hospital. He is a past-president of The American College of Rheumatology and past-president of the American College of Legal Medicine. He has authored numerous papers and chapters on immunology, rheumatology and legal topics and has been a consultant to numerous firms in a variety of fields, including venture capital, biotechnology, advertising and law. Dr. Gibofsky was the Chair of the Arthritis Drugs FDA Advisory Committee

Barry D. Quart, PharmD; Dr. Quart was elected as a director and appointed President and CEO of Ardea Biosciences, Inc. in December 2006.  From 2002 until December 2006, Dr. Quart was President of Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was instrumental in bringing the company public on the London Stock Exchange in July 2006.  Prior to Napo, Dr. Quart was Senior Vice President, Pfizer Global Research and Development and the Director of Pfizer's La Jolla Laboratories, where he was responsible for approximately 1,000 employees and an annual budget of almost $300 million.  Prior to Pfizer's acquisition of the Warner-Lambert Company, Dr. Quart was President of Research and Development of Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a division of the Warner-Lambert Company, beginning in 1999.  Dr Quart joined Agouron in 1993 and was instrumental in the development and registration of nalfinavir (Viracept®), which went from the lab bench to NDA approval in 38 months.  Prior to Agouron, Dr. Quart spent over ten years at Bristol-Myers Squibb in both Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs, where he was actively involved in the development and registration of important drugs for the treatment of HIV and cancer, including paclitaxel (Taxol®), didanoosine (Videx®), and stavudine (Zerit®).  He has a PharmD from University of California, San Francisco.

Robert J. Terifay; Mr. Terifay has been Senior Vice President, Commercial since joining the company in February 2007.  Prior to joining the company, from January to October 2006, Mr. Terifay served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Arginox Pharmaceuticals.  Prior to Arginox, Mr. Terifay was Senior Vice President, Business Operations at Synta Pharmaceuticals from March to December 2005.  From February 2002 until March 2005, he held various senior commercial and marketing positions at Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Inc, most recently as Senior Vice President, Oncology Commercial.  Mr. Terifay was Vice President Marketing at Cor Therapeutics, Inc. from 1996 until its acquisition by Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in February 2002.  Mr. Terifay was Executive Vice President of Strategic Services at Saatchi & Saatchi from 1993 to 1996.  From 1985 to 1993, he held various commercial and marketing positions at G.D. Searly & Company.  Mr. Terifay recieved a Master of Management degree in Marketing and Health Service Management from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.