Looking Ahead to Biotech Nexus
The annual MBP event featuring leaders from across biotechnology will be held April 25.
The global biotechnology market was valued at more than $1.5 trillion in 2023. By 2030, that value is expected to balloon to nearly $4 trillion, according to Grand View Research.
To help explain that growth and how the market might be impacted by current governmental policies, Northwestern Engineering's Master of Biotechnology Program (MBP) will welcome four industry experts to its annual Biotech Nexus.
The event, scheduled for April 25, is an annual opportunity for students and alumni to connect with and learn from leaders across the biotechnology space. Biotech Nexus will be hosted at Nona Jo's Cafe inside the Walter Athletics Center on Northwestern's Evanston campus.
"This will be a year where the biotechnology community needs to collaborate and partner even more fiercely than before," said event organizer Michelle Mittelman, assistant director for alumni and industry engagement at Northwestern Engineering. "Biotech Nexus is a great way to bring key members of the biotechnology community together to share ideas, inspire students, and motivate us all to keep exploring and innovating, despite any barriers we currently face."
This year's event will feature a welcome address by MBP director Danielle Tullman-Ercek, panel discussion, and networking reception.
Panelists for this year's event include:
Jeff Ehrhardt
Chief operating officer, Shreenika
Ehrhardt co-founded Shreenika, a sustainable chemicals company, in 2023. His goal is to make biomanufacturing affordable for commodity chemicals. Since founding the company, he's focused on identifying markets for biotechnology-derived ingredients, grown his R&D team, and provided the underlying technology to make biomanufacturing affordable.
Elizabeth Goodrich
Technical R&D director, MilliporeSigma
Goodrich is a bioprocess engineer with more than 30 years of experience in protein purification development, system design, and process automation. At MilliporeSigma, a biotechnology research company, Goodrich focuses on helping develop novel and sustainable solutions to enable intensified and continuous biomanufacturing.
Ameet Mallik (MBP graduate)
CEO, ADC Therapeutics
Mallik has more than 25 years of industry experience, including more than 16 years as executive vice president and head of US oncology at Novartis. In 2022, he joined ADC Therapeutics, a leader in antibody drug conjugates, to help bring targeted cancer therapies to market. He previously was CEO of Rafael Holdings, a novel cancer and immune metabolism therapeutics company.
Anju Samy
Head of regulatory affairs, COUR Pharmaceuticals.
Samy has more than 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. She recently joined COUR Pharmaceuticals, a company interested in developing therapies to help the immune system tolerate immune-mediated diseases. She previously was senior director of regulatory affairs at Amgen, and currently guest lectures in MBP.
"Biotech Nexus is a great way to celebrate the work this community is doing at Northwestern and beyond," Mittelman said. "This will be my third year supporting Biotech Nexus, and I am constantly amazed and delighted to learn how biotechnology is truly changing the world we live in and making the world a better place for us all."
