Scientists to Discuss Challenges of Drug Development for Traumatic Brain Injury at First Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) January 18, 2011 -- Arrowhead’s Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference, set to take place on March 7, 2011 in Washington, DC has been organized to bring together individuals from the biopharmaceutical industry, government, military and academia to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing those involved in the research and development and commercialization of new therapies for acute and chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Treatment of TBI and especially acute TBI is still a major unmet medical need. Therapies that prove an ability to limit the damage done to the brain and improve clinical outcomes of patients of TBI will have a major impact on the global pharmaceutical market. Although past clinical trials for new therapies have ended in failure, there is indeed renewed interest in this field and with recent initiatives from both the US Congress and Department of Defense to improve treatment options for TBI patients, the time has come for a rethinking of the potential for pharmaceutical management of this condition.

Attendees will hear from the following R&D leaders:

*Frank C. Tortella, Ph.D., Chief, Department of Applied Neurobiology & CCCRP Brain Trauma Program, Manager, Division of Neuropsychiatry & Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
*Darryl Kaelin, M.D., Medical Director, Acquired Brain Injury Program, Shepherd Center

*David X. Cifu, M.D., Chairman & Herman J. Flax, M.D. Professor, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), Executive Director, Center for Rehabilitation Sciences & Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, National Director for PM&R Services, Veterans Health Administration, Chief, PM&R Services, McGuire VA Medical Center
*Donald G. Stein, Ph.D., Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brain Research Laboratory, Emory University
*Jackson Streeter, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Banyan Biomarkers
*Allen Davidoff, Ph.D., Vice President Product Development, Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp.
*Christine Marx, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center
*Amy K. Wagner, MD, Associate Professor, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh

*R. Loch Macdonald, M.D., Ph.D, Keenan Endowed Chair of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, Chief Scientific Officer, Edge Therapeutics
*Neal M. Farber, Ph.D., CEO, NeuroHealing Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Themes and topics include:

* Animal models and TBI: translating results to the clinic
* Designing effective clinical trials, taking into account prognostic factors and likely clinical outcomes
* Drug delivery (blood-brain barrier) challenges facing developers of TBI therapies
* Acute TBI
* Post-Acute/chronic neurorehabilitation
* Neuroprotection
* Halting secondary injury in TBI
* Proper diagnosis – biomarkers and molecular diagnostics in TBI

Please visit www.tbiconference.com for more information.
Phone: 1-312-244-3703

Research and Development     therapeutics     traumatic brain injury     treatment