Ulrich A.K. Betz

Vice President Innovation in Merck, Germany

Dr. Betz is Senior Vice President of Innovation at Merck, Head of the department Future Insight & Research Programs, Member of the German Council of Science & Humanities, Head of the science & technology workstream for Merck’s 350th Anniversary and Head of the COVID-19 SARS-CoV2 Innovation Task Force 2019 at Merck. He has 25 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry and was a multi-year member of the drug discovery research management and review boards at Merck and Bayer. His vision is to combine science/technology and innovation with the eternal principles of truth, love, courage, liberty and spirituality to solve the challenges of today and to enable the dreams of a better tomorrow.

14:30 - 15:30

Parallel sessions

Academia session: Biotechnology - How is it shaping our future?

Moderator and chair of the session: Dr. Jelena Begović, Director of Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE) and Full Research Professor

Dr. Charles Ruranga, Director of the African Centre of Excellence in Data Science, Rwanda
Dr. Claudia Vickers, Chief Scientific Officer at Eden Brew, Australia
Kiren Naidoo, CEO of Zdravlje A.D. and Founder of Frontier Pharma, UK
Martin Mössler, Managing Director of Science Park Graz, Austria
Dr. Nataša Skoko, Head of Biotechnology Development Unit at International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Italy

Business session: Accelerating innovation

Moderator and chair of the session: Prof. Robert C. Wolcott, Co-Founder and Chairman of The World Innovation Network (TWIN) and Adjunct Professor of Innovation at Booth School of Business at University of Chicago & Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

Dan Vahdat, CEO of Huma, UK
Gloria Seibert, Founder & CEO at Temedica, Germany
Dr. Milan Obradović, Senior Global Scientific Director Integrated Healthcare Solutions, Global Medical Affairs at Roche, Switzerland
Dr. Ulrich A.K. Betz, Vice President Innovation in Merck, Germany
William Moss, CEO of Seven Bridges Genomics, USA