SRI International's Nathan Collins to Lead BayBio 2009 Conference Panel on Outsourcing Preclinical R&D

MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwire - April 13, 2009) - SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research and development organization, announced today that Nathan Collins, Ph.D., executive director, Drug Discovery, SRI Biosciences Division, will lead an industry panel, "Strategies and Best Practices for Outsourcing Preclinical R&D," at the BayBio 2009 annual conference. The panel discussion, which will be followed by a Q&A session, will be on Thursday, April 16 from 9:45 am - 11:00 am at the South San Francisco Conference Center.

The BayBio annual conference focuses on novel solutions to help Northern California companies save money and operate more efficiently during the difficult economic climate. Speakers and panelists will address this year's conference theme, "Navigating the Storm."

Collins will be joined by speakers with a broad range of industry experience, from small biotech to large pharmaceutical companies.

Panel Speakers

--  Michael J. Green, Ph.D., senior vice president, Research &
    Development, ViroBay, Inc.
--  Milan T. Tomic, program director, Xoma Ltd.
--  Ronald Wolff, executive director, Preclinical Safety Assessment,
    Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research
    

Panelists will discuss best practices for collaboration and outsourcing so that companies can focus on their main area of expertise and leverage the experience and knowledge of others. Companies of all sizes, from virtual start-ups to large multinational pharmaceuticals, are using a wide range of approaches, from strategic alliances to fee-for-service models in order to support their drug and biologic development programs. The focus of the session will be to help those considering outsourcing to make educated decisions and find the right partners.

About SRI's Biosciences Division

SRI International's Biosciences Division teams with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academia, foundations, and government agencies to solve important problems in global health. SRI Biosciences conducts basic research, drug discovery, and drug development, including contract research. SRI has all of the resources necessary to take R&D programs from "idea to IND"™ -- from initial discovery to investigational new drug applications to start human clinical trials -- and specializes in cancer, immunology and inflammation, infectious disease, and neuroscience research. SRI's internal drug pipeline has yielded several marketed drugs, several additional drugs currently in clinical trials, and more than a dozen programs in preclinical development or early discovery. In its CRO business, SRI has helped advance more than 100 drugs into clinical trials, several of which have reached the market. SRI is also working at the nexus of science and technology to create new technology platforms for the next generation of drug discovery and development in areas such as diagnostics, drug delivery, medical devices, and systems biology.

About SRI International

Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. SRI, which was founded by Stanford University as Stanford Research Institute in 1946 and became independent in 1970, has been meeting the strategic needs of clients and partners for more than 60 years. Perhaps best known for its invention of the computer mouse and interactive computing, SRI has also been responsible for major advances in networking and communications, robotics, drug discovery and development, advanced materials, atmospheric research, education research, economic development, national security, and more. The nonprofit institute performs sponsored research and development for government agencies, businesses, and foundations. SRI also licenses its technologies, forms strategic alliances, and creates spin-off companies. In 2008, SRI's consolidated revenues, including its wholly owned for-profit subsidiary, Sarnoff Corporation, were approximately $490 million.