About Us | Press Releases | 2008 | October 6

RAISING MONEY TO FUND SCHOLARSHIPS AND ENTREPRENEURS IN BIO/IT SCIENCE: Foundation Started to Honor Steve A. Mandell, The Late Founder of the BIO IT Coalition

Mr. Steve A. Mandell was a business attorney at Pepper Hamilton LLP and worked with entrepreneurs to help establish strong companies.  Observing a need for strategic alliances in the life sciences and the advantage of the convergence of biotech and information technology (IT), he worked tirelessly to bring disparate groups together to learn from one another and to partner for growth.  Upon his death the Steve A. Mandell BIO IT Entrepreneurship Foundation, Inc. was established to help young companies and to award small scholarships to students studying in fields relating to healthcare and bio/IT.

Healthcare will change in the future because of the influence of IT tools.  Vast amounts of information must be analyzed in order to create new drugs and diagnostics, or to follow patient progress and history by way of electronic medical records.  New healthcare products will be created through the use of IT tools which will help reduce the time, cost and difficulty of dealing with all that data.

In 2001, Steve A. Mandell founded the BIO IT Coalition to bring together people who work in the biosciences, information technology, business, academia, the law and funding to learn about opportunities to improve their products and enter into complementary, and strategic relationships.  Mr. Mandell, who died in April ’08, led and grew the Coalition as it examined critical issues in improving healthcare through its monthly lectures and conferences.

The Steve A. Mandell BIO IT Entrepreneurship Foundation, Inc. will fund one $1,000 scholarship at the BIO IT Coalition Annual Conference each April, and will award prizes to companies involved in improving healthcare, especially in cancer therapeutics and diagnostics.  Pepper Hamilton LLP made a generous contribution to seed the Foundation.

Steve Mandell believed that solutions to health care problems will come about as a result of collaboration and partnership among leading thinkers in many fields and he was determined to help start the dialogue and keep it going.

Tax free contributions to support scholarships and companies, in Steve’s memory or in honor of others, can be made to the Steve A. Mandell BIO IT Entrepreneurship Foundation, Inc, care of Judi Giannini, Pepper Hamilton LLP, 600 14th St NW, Washington DC 20005.

The BIO IT Coalition bridges the life sciences and information technology industries to promote the growth of the Bio IT industry through interactive, content driven programs which highlight innovation, investment, education, collaboration and partnership.  This industry expansion will result in faster development and delivery of new therapies and diagnostics, better patient care, and other life science related technologies, goods, and services.  

Pepper Hamilton LLP (www.pepperlaw.com) is a multi-practice law firm with more than 500 lawyers in seven states and the District of Columbia. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.