Public health means different things to different people. Some look at it broadly in the capacity to study and manage threats to the health of a community. Others take a more narrow view, focusing on its subfi elds of epidemiology, health services, environmental, social, behavioral or occupational health. Regardless of the particular focus, biotechnology companies focusing their research on improving the lives of entire populations face unique challenges in R&D, funding and eventual commercialization. This panel will explore these unique challenges, and the rewards, that many biotechnology companies are committed to overcoming and achieving.

• Discuss the issues surrounding drug development from a public health perspective
• Explore the unique challenges a private biotechnology company faces when addressing disease areas where many target populations are in developing countries or the companies have to deal with emerging/evolving public health threats
• Provide insight into the future of drug development from a public health perspective