February Breakfast Club: Creativity and Innovation in Science

February Breakfast Club: “Creativity and Innovation in Science,” February 18, 2010. Eric Edwards, Chief Science Officer and co-founder of Intelliject, is set to speak at the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park.

C3: The Creative Change Center is pleased to announce its February Breakfast Club:  “Creativity and Innovation in Science.”  Eric Edwards, Chief Science Officer and co-founder of Intelliject, will share his story of creative problem-solving that led to the invention of an auto-injector of epinephrine for use by severely allergic people in emergency situations.  The C3 Breakfast Club will be held in the Ball Conference Room at the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park at 800 Leigh Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23219 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on February 18, 2010.

After growing up with severe allergies and experiencing life-threatening emergencies due to difficulties with rapid epinephrine delivery, Eric and his twin brother, Evan, have dedicated their careers to inventing a device to deliver epinephrine in a more patient-friendly way.  The company just announced in November 2009 that Intelliject has entered into a licensing agreement with sanofi-aventis for rights to the epinephrine auto-injector in North America in return for upfronts and milestones totaling up to $230 million and double digit royalties.  The novel auto-injector that the twin brothers invented has gained widespread interest for use with many other different infrequently injected medicines as well. Mr. Edwards will also discuss Intelliject’s creative product development process, which brings prototypes to patient-users early in the development process to get patient feedback.  That feedback is incorporated into further development through a highly iterative process resulting in patient-friendly devices.  Theirs is a success story of innovation and creative problem-solving.

C3 is hosting the event at the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, because it, too, is a success story of creativity and innovation in science.  The park has over 1.1 million square feet of space in nine buildings, employs over 2000 scientists, researchers, engineers and technicians, representing a capital investment exceeding $525 million dollars.  Intelliject got its start at the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, having rented space in the facility before moving to its present location in Shockoe Slip. The park is an epicenter of incubation, collaboration and innovation.  Bob Skunda, President and CEO, of the park will also share with the audience an overview of the park’s mission and some of its success stories of creativity and innovation in science.

Plan to join us for an exciting morning spotlighting the creative processes the local Life Sciences community is employing and its many successes.