By Stephen Nellis - 03/07/2008 Pacific Coast Business Times

Nationally, I take the R-word – or something that feels a lot like the R-word – as a forgone conclusion. But if any single effort decides whether a recession visits the Tri-Counties, it probably will be The Biotech Forum.

The Biotech Forum is the brainchild of Brent Reinke and John Dilts, founders of the Gold Coast Business Forum and Maverick Angels, respectively. The group’s mission is to foster the biotechnology, medical device and healthcare industries along the 101 Corridor in Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties, aiming for a sector hub on the order of San Diego or the San Francisco Bay area.

The forum’s first major educational and networking event will be from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 27 at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza Hotel in Westlake Village. But more to the point for our regional economy, the forum could help turn the hundreds of jobs cut at Amgen’s Thousand Oaks headquarters into a recrudescence of entrepreneurial activity in the area, anchored by a biotechnology incubator.

Composed of an invite-only membership, the forum focuses on practical business information and networking time for executives, entrepreneurs, scientists and investors. To those ends, the forum’s first outing is jam-packed with valuable speakers and panelists, such as keynote Beth Seidenberg, a partner at venture capital giant Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Panels will include representatives from DFJ Frontier Ventures and Prospect Ventures and a sampling of la crème de l'Académie régionale. The University of California, Santa Barbara; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Southern California; and the California Institute of Technology will all have speakers on hand. A cocktail hour finishes off the day.

“From what you can see in the quality of the panel we’ve put together, clearly there is an interest in this region,” Reinke said. “Our goal is to take what is an unfortunate situation with layoffs at Amgen and turn it into a huge positive in this region. We think we’re going to have a good turnout. It’s an opportunity to really jumpstart this effort.”

Baxter Healthcare, which has large operations in Ventura County, has come aboard as a corporate sponsor of the event, and Reinke said rumors are simmering about “another fairly large pharmaceutical company in the region that may or may not follow suit.”

Reinke said the group has finished the business plan for a biotechnology incubator and is searching for advisory board members to guide its nascent stages. Also on deck is a members-only section of The Biotech Forum’s Web site for online social networking.

“It’s starting to take on a life of its own,” Reinke said. “I hope in 12 to 18 months we can look back and say it was a worthwhile endeavor.”

Admission to the invitation-only March 27 event is $195 and will be credited toward the $395 membership fee for the forum.

Visit www.thebiotechforum.com for more information.