Phil Sharp is one of the godfathers of biotech. He’s an MIT biologist, Nobel laureate and, as a Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) co-founder, one of the people responsible for turning Kendall Square into the biopharma epicenter it is today.
Next month, he will share his story, the lessons he’s learned along the way, what he’s up to now, and much more. On Oct. 17 at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, MA, Xconomy will host “Boston’s Life Science Disruptors.” This year, we’re featuring three interactive, candid, fireside chat-style discussions with a cross section of biomedical innovators, patient advocates, and startup founders.
You can see the full agenda and grab your tickets here, but here’s a bit more on what you can expect:
—Hear the story of Jett Foundation founder and Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient advocate Christine McSherry, whose fight for new treatments is emblematic of the rise of patient power and the recent evolution of drug regulation. So is the emergence of her startup, Casimir Trials, which is working with a dozen drugmakers to compile data that show the impact rare-disease medicines—particularly drugs for Duchenne—might be having on patients.
—Can gene editing approaches—like CRISPR and base editing—lead to a breakthrough for heart disease? Prominent cardiologist and geneticist Sekar Kathiresan was so compelled by the idea that he just stepped down from multiple posts at the region’s top medical and research centers to lead a company, Verve Therapeutics, pursuing that goal. He and co-founder Burt Adelman, a Biogen veteran, will walk through the details.
Space is limited, so make sure to grab your tickets now—you can save some cash if you buy a seat online instead of at the door. See you in Cambridge on Oct. 17.
