Autism Speaks is pleased to announce its preliminary list of showcase presenters for the third annual Autism Investment Conference (AIC2015). This year’s conference will take place at Boston’s Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center, March 10 and 11.
The conference’s Showcase Sessions will focus on investment opportunities in areas of unmet need for the autism community. These will include autism therapeutics, assistive technology, gaming platforms, diagnostics and risk assessment, employment, services and housing. Following each session’s presentations, an expert panel will lead a Q&A and brainstorming period.
An optional third day “Autism App Pitch Playground,” co-sponsored by Google, will take place at Google’s nearby Cambridge campus. The half-day event will culminate with cash prizes awarded by DELSIA, Autism Speaks’ venture philanthropy affiliate.
The following presenters will be featured in Showcase Sessions on autism therapeutics, assistive technology, risk assessment and diagnosis. Check back later this week for presenters showcasing products and services in gaming technology and employment.
Assistive Technology
This session will focus on autism apps, software and electronic devices. Together, this technology represents one of the fastest growing segments in autism products and services. Confirmed showcase presenters include:
Tamie Salter, president and chief executive officer of Que Innovations. Dr. Salter is an award-winning researcher best known for the development of robotic devices for children affected by autism. Her company’s product is QueBall, which Dr. Salter designed to encourage interactive play.
Alex Mark, co-founder and chief executive officer of Truthly. With a special focus on autism, Truthly aggregates research to provide evidence-backed information to help individuals and families with health decisions.
Eron Howard of Novacoast will showcase “Full Resolution Health.” Full Resolution Health is a cloud-based service that enables autism service agencies to maintain a secure, centralized database of patient videos that assures patient privacy while simplifying and improving the quality of feedback between clinicians and families.
Autism Diagnosis and Risk Assessment
This showcase will feature products developed to improve autism risk assessment and diagnosis. Presenters pitching their products will include:
Jan D’Alvise, chief executive officer of Pediatric Bioscience. Dr. D’Alvise will showcase the company’s MAR Test, a blood test for women that identifies whether they carry autoantibodies that have been associated with increased risk of having a child with autism.
Rem Fox, chief operating officer at Behavior Imaging Solutions. Mr. Fox will showcase the company’s NODA (Naturalistic Observation Diagnostic Assessment) service. NODA combines smart phone technology and a team of clinicians trained for assessing autistic behavior to diagnose – or rule out – autism.
Bernard Courtieu, chief executive officer of IntegraGen, will showcase his company’s ARisk and ARisk@ autism risk-assessment tests.
Beth Donley, chief executive officer of Stemina, will present her company’s ARISk Test, designed to help physicians identify children at high risk for autism.
Therapeutics
The following presenters will showcase their strategies to advance promising medicines to market.
Emily Levy, strategy and regulatory advisor to CIPAC Therapeutics, will showcase the company’s development of a full-spectrum “microbiome” treatment for GI dysfunction in people with autism. The product is aimed at restoring a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut.
Larry Glass, chief executive officer of Neuren Pharmaceuticals, will showcase Neuren’s strategy for developing their lead compound, “NNZ-2566,” for the treatment of neurodevelopmental syndromes. Neuren is developing a number of new treatment for brain disorders and conditions, including autism, Rett syndrome and fragile X syndrome.
Hao Chen, president and chief science officer of DRI Biosciences, will showcase the newly founded company’s strategy for developing ACT01, a compound with potential for relieving core and associated symptoms of autism.
Chad Beyer, chief executive officer of Promentis Pharmaceuticals will showcase the company’s plans for developing several potential medicines for treating autism and schizophrenia.
Learn about AIC2015’s featured speakers here.
Learn more about AIC2015’s “Autism App Pitch Playground” here.
Learn more and register for AIC2015 here.