[April 13, 2016]

2016 World Medical Innovation Forum to Feature Innovations Enhancing Patient Care from Prevention to the Needs of Long-Term Cancer Survivors

Partners HealthCare today announced that the upcoming World Medical Innovation Forum™ will include a focus on patient care, ranging from discussions of the importance of cancer prevention and early detection and the innovations that are making it possible to the unique care requirements and new technology approaches to help survivors. The 2016 Forum, an annual collaboration and partnering event held in Boston on April 25-27, will focus on cancer. CEOs and senior company executives, top investors, policy experts, and Harvard scientists leading the charge in the fight against cancer will take the stage over the course of the three-day Forum for a series of sessions that will critically examine the innovations in and evolution of cancer care.

"Technological advances in diagnostics are beginning to make it possible to detect cancer at the earliest stages of the disease when treatment may be most effective," said David Louis, MD, Pathologist-in-Chief, Massachusetts General Hospital and Benjamin Castleman Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School. "However, there have been many barriers to making these innovative tests widely available to patients, including the need for more research and development to ensure accuracy, better guidance to speed the regulatory process and new models to support their value and reimbursement. This Forum provides a space for us to learn about these exciting new diagnostic technologies and to collaborate on the scientific and economic challenges that preventative strategies and early cancer detection bring about."

"Detecting cancer as early as possible in the developmental stage will help both patients and hospitals in terms of prognosis with possible cure or therapy regimens before the cancer has spread. It will also help avoid the economic burden typically associated with late-stage detection," said Massimo Loda, MD, Senior Pathologist, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Principal Investigator, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School. "The technologies we are creating and pursuing are designed to detect and pursue cancer cells at the most vulnerable point in their development: the very beginning. The Forum will provide us with the opportunity to discuss those advances and learn of other new developments in a collaborative manner."

The prevention of cancer and the development of new strategies to detect cancer precursors and early-stage malgnancies when treatment may be most effective - clinically and financially - are critical research goals. The experts on the "Early Detection and Prevention of Cancer" panel will review powerful imaging modalities, single-cell analysis of the tumor microenvironment and next-generation cancer models. They will also discuss circulating tumor DNA testing to monitor response to treatment and emergence of cancer resistance-with the objective of early cancer diagnosis before symptoms appear. The panel will take place at 4:50 p.m. on Monday, April 25, 2016, in the Novartis Ballroom of The Westin Copley Hotel.

Panel participants include:

• Moderator: David Louis, MD, Pathologist-in-Chief, MGH and Benjamin Castleman Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School
• Andy Chan, MD, Program Director, Gastroenterology Training Program, MGH and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
• William Hait, MD, PhD, Global Head, Janssen Research & Development
• Krishna Kumar, CEO, Emerging Businesses, Philips (News - Alert)
• Massimo Loda, MD, Senior Pathologist, Principal Investigator, BWH, Dana-Farber and Professor, Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School

"The number of people diagnosed with cancer is continuing to grow at an astounding rate and while new treatment advances are enabling more and more of these patients to survive, there is an increasing need for innovative tools and resources to address the changing needs of patients, their families and the health care system," said Claire Thom, Pharm D, Senior Vice President, Global Oncology Development, Astellas.

Extraordinary treatment advances have turned many cancers from apparent death sentences into manageable chronic illnesses with extraordinary consequences for the entire health care system. In the United States, there are approximately 14 million cancer survivors, up from just three million four decades earlier. Those survivors have unique care requirements, that will put enormous stress on the system and calling out for new technology solutions. A program, titled "Surviving Cancer: New Realities, New Needs," will discuss those requirements and the technologies and approaches that can help monitor, guide, and connect patients. The panel will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, 2016, in the Takeda Ballroom of The Westin Copley Hotel.

Panel participants include:

• Moderator: Tim Ferris, MD, Senior Vice President of Population Health Management, Partners HealthCare
• Jani Ahonala, CEO, Noona Healthcare
• Don Dizon, MD, Clinical Co-Director, Gynecologic Oncology, Founder and Director, The Oncology Sexual Health Clinic, MGH and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
• Ann Partridge, MD, Director, Adult Survivorship Program, Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer, Dana-Farber and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
• Claire Thom, Pharm D, Senior Vice President, Global Oncology Development, Astellas

Sponsors of the Forum include Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Takeda Oncology, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, General Electric, Ipsen, MacDougall Biomedical Communications, McCall & Almy, Mintz Levin (News - Alert), Ropes & Gray, and Vertex. STAT is the exclusive media partner of the Forum.

About the World Medical Innovation Forum
The World Medical Innovation Forum is a global gathering of senior corporate, investor, and academic leaders. It was established to respond to the intensifying transformation of health care and its impact on innovation. The Forum is rooted in the belief that no matter the magnitude of that change, the center of health care needs to be a shared, fundamental commitment to collaborative innovation - industry and academia working together and its ability to improve patient lives.

For more information or to register, please go to www.worldmedicalinnovation.org.

About Partners HealthCare
Partners HealthCare is an integrated health system founded by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to its two academic medical centers, the Partners system includes community and specialty hospitals, a managed care organization, community health centers, a physician network, home health and long-term care services, and other health-related entities. Partners HealthCare is one of the nation's leading biomedical research organizations and a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Partners HealthCare is a non-profit organization.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160413005469/en/

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