The Midwest Drug Development Conference, a new biomedical partnering event, will come to Omaha next year, officials at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and its technology transfer and commercialization office, UNeMed, announced today.

The conference is planned to be an event exclusively for Midwestern universities engaged in health care and medical research and will focus on the drug development industry.

The main goal of the conference is to provide industry and investors a singular event to learn about cutting edge Midwestern therapeutic technologies and start-up companies. The event would also provide opportunities for academic researchers to find partners that can help further develop future cures and treatments.

A major feature of the conference will include ample networking opportunities and dedicated spaces where guests can set up one-on-one partnering meetings and showcase other technologies.

So far the list of participating universities includes Nebraska and the Nebraska Medical Center, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Iowa, Iowa State, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue, Washington University, and Colorado State.

Named the MidWest Drug Development Conference, the event will be held on Oct. 1-2, 2018 in the downtown Omaha Marriott convention center.
The conference will feature more than 50 presentations of early- and mid-stage technologies and startups that emanated from university research. All presentations will be limited to 10 minutes, including time for questions and answers. They will cover a wide scope of conditions and diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases and central nervous disorders, to name a few.

The two day event will also provide breakfast and lunch for all pre-registered guests.

Registration is $500, but a limited number of discounts codes are available for select industry an investor groups. Register here or contact Matt Boehm at mboehm@unmc.edu to learn how to receive a discount code. The event is primarily sponsored and hosted by UNeMed and the University of Nebraska.

Meet new partners, unearth hidden gems at the Midwest Drug Development Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, Oct. 1-2, 2018. A dozen major Midwest medical research institutions with their best and brightest technologies will be in one place, including Colorado State University, Indiana University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Northwestern University, Purdue University, University of Illinois-Urbana, University of Iowa, University of Kansas, University of Nebraska, University of Missouri and the University of Washington in St. Louis. Those institutions accounted for (in 2016 according to AUTM data): $5.61 billion in research; 2,119 new inventions; 614 licensing agreements; 581 U.S. patents; 42 new products; 91 startups formed; 10 blockbusters (licensing agreements worth $1 million or more).