Interactive Session & Networking Lunch with Ryan Dawes, Ph.D.

Interactive Session &^ Networking Lunch with Ryan Dawes, Ph.D. - Search & Evaluation in Biotech: From Landscape Assessment to Research Strategy Decision-making

Join Ryan Dawes, PhD, for an interactive introduction to how Business Development and Search & Evaluation teams identify and assess emerging technologies and drug candidates in the biotechnology industry. Using a practical case-based approach, Ryan will walk through the process of surveying a therapeutic area, identifying available assets and technologies, and building a competitive landscape to understand the external opportunity space.

Participants will then explore how these insights can be combined with a “Target Product Profile” and internal R&D capabilities to inform research strategy, including where to build internally, where to partner or acquire external innovation, and how potential opportunities can be prioritized for further evaluation. The session will highlight the scientific, strategic, and business considerations that shape real-world Search & Evaluation decisions.

Interactive Session: 10:00am - 12:00pm

Networking Lunch: 12:00pm - 1:30pm

Ryan Dawes, Ph.D. - Biography

Ryan Dawes, PhD, is a biotechnology business development professional with over a decade of industry experience spanning drug discovery, technology scouting, and search and evaluation. He recently joined Biogen as Director of Neuroscience Search & Evaluation, where he will focus on identifying and evaluating external opportunities to complement Biogen’s neuroscience R&D portfolio. Previously, Ryan served as Director of Business Development at Intellia Therapeutics, leading innovation scouting, scientific diligence, and deal negotiations for technologies supporting Intellia's in vivo genome editing and ex vivo cell therapy platforms. Ryan began his industry career at Vertex Pharmaceuticals as a drug discovery scientist, leading research projects in neurogenetic disease and gene therapy before transitioning into business development and external innovation. He earned his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester Medical Center, where his dissertation research examined the effects of psychological stress on breast cancer progression.