AT CAPACITY: Big Pharma's Hunger for Biotech Drugs

This meeting will be held at the MBC Offices, located on the ninth floor of One Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142.

THIS MEETING IS AT CAPACITY. ALL REGISTRATION REQUEST SENT IN AFTER 9/11/08 WILL BE PLACED ON A WAITING LIST

Executive Breakfast Series: Sponsored by the Marketing/Communications Committee : "Big Pharma's Hunger for Biotech Drugs"

8:00 AM     Networking Starts
8:30 - 9:30 AM     Speaker: Dr. Christoph Westphal, CEO, Sirtris, a GSK Company

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (formerly NASDAQ:SIRT) is focused on discovering and developing medicines with the potential to treat diseases associated with aging. Sirtris' drug candidates are designed to mimic certain beneficial health effects of calorie restriction, without requiring a change in eating habits, by modulation of sirtuins, a recently discovered family of enzymes associated with the aging process.

Sirtris is currently engaged in clinical trials in patients with Type 2 Diabetes and MELAS, a mitochondrial disorder. In June 2008, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it completed its acquisition of Sirtris for approximately $720 million. The company's headquarters remain in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Through the acquisition of Sirtris, GSK has significantly enhanced its metabolic, neurology, immunology and inflammation research efforts by establishing a presence in the field of sirtuins.

Dr. Christoph Westphal will provide insights into what led to the acquisition and why it made sense for shareholders.

peaker Bio

Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D. co-founded Sirtris and has served as Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chair since 2004. As CEO and Vice Chair, Dr. Westphal previously co-founded Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY), Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA), and Acceleron Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for CoNCERT Pharmaceuticals, Magen BioSciences, and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Westphal received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard University. He graduated with a B.A. summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University. Dr. Westphal was formerly a consultant with McKinsey, and a general partner in a venture capital fund. He has been lead or senior author on several patent applications and papers in journals such as Cell, Nature, and Nature Genetics. Dr. Westphal has received a number of academic and entrepreneurial awards. He is fluent in English, German, Spanish, and French and has visited over 130 countries