Silicon Valley Indian Professionals Association (SIPA) invites you to our monthly event on July 31, 2004.

The global bioinformatics industry clocked an estimated turnover of $2 billion in 2000 and is expected to become $60 billion by 2005. Bioinformatics has emerged out of the inputs from several different areas such as biology, biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, biostatics, and computer science. This sector is the quickest growing field because of the linkages between IT and biotechnology, spurred by the human genome project.

The hype about the sector has made a lot of difference. This has caused a sudden surge in the number of companies. This is normal for any new technology which promises potential, especially as the perceived conception that it was relatively easy to get in with a certain amount of IT expertise.

Come listen to veteran speakers talk about:

1. What is bioinformatics?
2. Bio-Informatics and what is the future?
3. Technical challenges.
4. Investments and opportunities in this upcoming industry?
5. Current market state
6. IP related issues?
7. Is Outsourcing to India a viable option?
8. Jobs for IT professionals in this industry?

Narinder S. Banait, Ph.D., J.D. is a senior associate in the Intellectual Property Group of Fenwick & West LLP, a law firm specializing in high technology and bioscience matters. Fenwick & West is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in San Francisco, California and Washington, D.C. Narinder’s practice focuses on patent prosecution, patent analysis and counseling, and intellectual property due diligence.

Narinder received his undergraduate education at University of Toronto, graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry. He received a M.S. in Synthetic Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, both from the University of Toronto. He was a Post-doctoral fellow at Brandeis University, and at University of California. In addition, he worked as a research scientist at Syntex Research, a pharmaceutical company that was acquired by Roche, where he primarily focused on 5-HT3 antagonists for the treatment of emesis and anxiety disorders. He received his J.D. from the Santa Clara University in 1997.

Narinder was an in-house attorney at Incyte Genomics where he supported the bioinformatics and the software development groups. In addition, he has written and prosecuted patent applications related to polymers, peptides, carbon nanotubes, photochemistry, chemical processes and method of manufacture, small molecule and oligonucleotide drug candidates, and applications on synthetic methods.

Steve Madden, M.S., PMP is the founder and a member of the Steering Committee for Bay Area Bioinformatics Discussion Group http://www.bayareabioinformatics.org. He set up and led the project management group at DoubleTwist, Inc., a provider of bioinformatics software. Since 2002, he has worked in technical support for Agilent Technologies' life science products and teaches in the San Jose State Professional Development's project management program. Steve holds degrees from U.C. Davis and San Jose State University, and is a PMI-certified Project Management Professional.