CHI Makes New Connections in Atlanta

On Wednesday, I ran into Gregory Downs, Director of Business Development for Biovail based out of Toronto, Canada, on my way to the BIO Public Officials Reception at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Biovail is a contract research firm that manages clinical trials for pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the United States and Canada, including several clients in California’s major biotech clusters. While I discussed what CHI does for the life sciences industry in California, Downs recounted several recent successful clinical trials that his company has performed in California for various therapeutics.

For me, this has been the best aspect of being in Atlanta with all of the myriad life sciences firms at the 2009 International BIO Convention – casual conversations present opportunities for CHI and our members to partner with other organizations and to get the word out about the value and services we provide for biomedical research. I encourage CHI member companies that are considering using contract research firms for clinical trials to contact Greg to discuss Biovail, and CHI will be in touch with Greg to discuss our advocacy efforts in Sacramento to see if we can be a resource for Biovail to ensure that policies and regulations put forth in the California Legislature support the work that Biovail does in California.

For more information about Biovail, contact Gregory Downs, director of business development at (919) 876-4431 or greg.downs@biovail.com. For more information on CHI and services we provide in California, contact Molly Ingraham, vice president of operations at (858) 551-6677 or ingraham@chi.org.

CHI-Advancing California biomedical research and innovation