UVA School of Law Conference to Focus on Business of Health Care

Experts in the business of health care will convene at the University of Virginia School of Law to examine the future of the industry on Friday, April 6 in Caplin Pavilion.

Earl "Duke" Collier '73

The conference, sponsored by the Virginia Law & Business Review and the Sadie Lewis Webb Program in Law and Biomedicine, will feature keynote speaker Earl "Duke" Collier, an executive in the biomedical industry and a 1973 graduate of the Law School. Collier, who will speak at 9 a.m., is chief executive officer of 480 Biomedical, a senior adviser to Polaris Venture Partners and executive chairman of Arsenal Medical. He has also served as executive vice president of Genzyme Corporation, president of Vitas Healthcare, a partner in the law firm Hogan & Hartson, and deputy administrator of the Health Care Finance Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services. He sits on the boards of Arsenal Medical, Pervasis Therapeutics and Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Although the student journal has hosted a symposium each spring since 2007, organizers have never focused the event on health care before.

"We wanted to fill that void this year by focusing largely on the investing, startup and overall business side of the industry," said symposium organizer Warren McCarty, editor in chief of the Virginia Law & Business Review. "The theme is not only topical and interesting to a large number of students and faculty in the UVA community, but we found that many of our Law School alumni go on to work in health care as entrepreneurs, general counsel for companies, or at firms working on health care finance or regulatory matters."

McCarty said Collier was his first choice to deliver the keynote address on the subject.

"Not only has Mr. Collier had a long and immensely successful career in health care, but the breadth of his experience made him a natural fit," McCarty said. "Plus, he's a proud alumni of UVA Law."

Panels throughout the day will focus on health care investing and startups, business strategy and opportunities in the health care industry, and the regulation and the future of health care. Speakers include executives in the health care industry, biomedical and business scholars, attorneys who focus  on the health industry, and hospital executives, including the president and CEO of the Charlottesville-based Martha Jefferson Hospital and the chief legal officer of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. (Full schedule below)

The conference is open to the public and parking will be available in the Law School's D-2 lots.
 

Tentative Schedule - Friday, April 6