Second Consumer Genetics Conference to be hosted at the Hynes Convention Center

Nov 16 2009

The media spotlight will shine again on Boston from June 2^nd – June 4^th, 2010 as the Consumer Genetics Conference, (www.consumergeneticsconference.com), hosts its yearly conference at the Hynes Convention Center. The Consumer Genetics Conference has established itself as the premier event for the convergence of the consumer market, genetics technology market, and healthcare/diagnostics market.

Last year’s Consumer Genetics Conference reached overcapacity levels in terms of attendees, and was covered by 3 major news networks, as well as over 12 national and local television programs – all filming onsite.

This year, the conference, is limiting the number of available attendee slots in order to prevent overcrowding in the conference halls and exhibit areas. A preliminary schedule has been released on its website, www.consumergeneticsconference.com. Early registration pricing is now open and will remain open through January, or until the attendee spots are sold out.

The conference attracted¸ as speakers, accomplished CEO’s and genetics thought leaders such as: Francis Collins, now Director of the National Institutes of Health, George Church, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and Jay Flatley, CEO of Illumina. Also present, and in some cases presenting on genetics and consumer products, were large consumer focused companies such as Procter and Gamble, L’Oreal, and MedCo. Flatley, unveiled the first prescription ever written for genome sequencing, as well as a genome sequence iPhone application. Given these consumer/patient focused products as well as advancements in the field; Collins speculated that the conference would grow to 6X its size within two years.

This year’s conference will continue to highlight cutting edge technologies, such as those offered by Affomix. These new technologies may enable point of care diagnostics, and response to treatment determinations, utilizing proteomics techniques on genomic-based platforms. “Until now, there was no pipeline to produce the Affome™, a collection of monoclonal antibodies against all protein targets in the proteome, or a way to measure complex protein mixtures.” stated Mike Snyder, Department Chair of Genetics at Stanford and a co-founder of Affomix. “Rapid production of high quality monoclonal antibodies fused to nucleic acid backbones could provide a paradigm shift not only in proteomics research, but also in point of care diagnostics and personalized medicine,” Snyder continued.

“The conference is a one of kind of event offering the convergence of perspectives from thought leaders in genetics and medicine, the consumer product industry, the law, and the venture capital community,” stated John Boyce, Conference Founder, Co-Founder of Delphi Bio, and President of DNA Like Me, Inc. “We have chosen our speakers and subjects carefully, and thus created an unbiased forum where opinions (pro and con), can be voiced and where critical information can be disseminated,” Boyce continued.