Source: BusinessWire

California Biomedical Community to Host Stanford Forum on Emerging
Medical Technologies, the Value of Innovative Therapies and the Impact of
Prop. 71 on Stem Cell Research

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2004--
  Policymakers and Scientists Join Lifesciences Leaders for Summit on
Sustaining the Golden State's Leadership in Medical Innovation

California policy makers joined leading biomedical researchers, health
policy officials and lifesciences industry leaders at Stanford University
today for the California Healthcare Institute's (CHI) second annual
California Healthcare Policy Forum. The two-day summit opened discussions
on the value of innovative therapies to both public and private payers,
emerging technologies being developed to meet unmet medical needs and the
importance of Proposition 71 in advancing stem cell research.

"Health care and medical innovation are high on the agenda of our state
and our nation," said CHI president and CEO David Gollaher. "This forum
brings together leaders who will address issues affecting not only the
political and lifesciences communities, but more importantly, patients
suffering from unmet medical needs. CHI believes that issues, such as
stem cell research funding and the promotion of policies that foster
biomedical innovation, are crucial to continuing the delivery of
breakthrough medicines and technologies to patients in California and
around the globe."

CHI's 2004 California Healthcare Policy Forum includes a wide variety of
speakers ranging from state and federal lawmakers, prominent biomedical
industry leaders, public and private payer system representatives to
world class researchers. One of the featured events is a roundtable
discussion on California's leading role in the advancement of stem cell
research with NBC Special Foreign Correspondent Bob Arnot, M.D., Prop. 71
Chairman Robert Klein, and Nobel Laureate Paul Berg, Ph.D.

"Voter approval of Proposition 71 presents a distinct opportunity for
California," said Paul Berg, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Stanford
University School of Medicine. "This initiative enables California
researchers, who include world leaders in biomedical research, to move
forward in the quest for better understanding treatments and cures for
conditions such as Parkinson's disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and
ALS. State support for this critical research presents immense hope that
stem cell science can help produce breakthroughs in diseases that are
otherwise untreatable or incurable."

The value of biomedical innovation is also a primary topic of discussion
at the forum, as the cost of medicines and new technologies present
challenges to both public and private payers. The Golden State's
biomedical community is opening a dialogue with state and federal
policymakers as well as payers and patients about how to reign in drug
prices without harming innovation and casting a chilling effect on the
venture capital funding needed to drive research and discovery.

"By bringing together leaders from the worlds of business, academia, and
politics, CHI's California Healthcare Policy Forum is intended to provide
opportunities to explore the issues surrounding the value of medical
innovations and patients' access to care," said Michael A. Mussallem, CHI
chairman, and chairman and CEO of Edwards Lifesciences. "The Golden
State's biomedical community is eager to work with policymakers to ensure
that we continue to deliver medical breakthroughs to the world and
innovative treatments that reach all Californians who need them."

About The California Healthcare Policy Forum

The CHI California Healthcare Policy Forum will be in session Monday,
November 8 through Tuesday, November 9 at the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni
Center on the Stanford University campus. The event is sponsored by
Amgen, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Johnson &
Johnson, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Novartis, Pfizer and Wyeth.
For more information, visit www.chi.org/policy_forum/2004.

About CHI

CHI represents more than 225 leading biotechnology, medical device,
diagnostics, and pharmaceutical companies, and public and private
academic biomedical research organizations. CHI's mission is to advance
responsible public policies that foster medical innovation and promote
scientific discovery. CHI's web site is http://www.chi.org.

Contacts


 California Healthcare Institute
Molly Ingraham, 858-551-6677
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or
Dudley Productions
John Dudley, 703-725-7027
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