"Smart Drugs" - New Innovations in Drug Technology

What are "smart drugs?" Should the federal government have an increased role in the development and distribution of pharmaceuticals? Do tomorrow's pharmaceuticals hinge on today's stem cell research? Will the next wave of drugs focus on curing certain diseases within certain populations?

These topics and other issues focused on new innovations in the drug and pharmaceutical industry are discussed this Sunday on Technogenesis®, a TV program produced by Stevens Institute of Technology, in cooperation with cn8, the Comcast Network.

Featured guests on the program include former New Jersey Congressman and president of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, Robert Franks, and former commissioner of health and senior services for the state of New Jersey and vice president of Aventis Pasteur, Christine Grant.

The Technogenesis program, "Smart Drugs: New Innovations in Drug Technology" airs at 7:00 p.m., on cn8, the Comcast Network, each of the following Sundays in the New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore regions: Dec. 30, Jan. 13, Jan. 27, Feb. 10 and Feb. 24. The program will also appear at various times on the local Comcast outlets in Prince William and Fairfax counties, VA, as well as Prince George's County, MD. Please check for local listings.

In August of this year, Robert Franks was appointed president of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey - an association of 17 research-based pharmaceutical and medical technology companies in New Jersey. Before joining the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, Franks served 4 consecutive terms as a U.S. Congressman for New Jersey's 7th district, presiding or sitting on numerous congressional committees and task forces.

Christine Grant is a nationally recognized expert in healthcare, pharmaceutical financing and public health crises. As a vice president at Aventis Pasteur, Grant works on a number of domestic and global issues including the creation of collaborative systems to manage a global or pandemic influenza outbreak. Prior to Aventis, Grant served as New Jersey's Commissioner of Health and Senior Services and was an executive at numerous companies in the healthcare industry.

Co-produced by Stevens and Comcast, the half-hour Technogenesis programs feature government, research and industry leaders discussing some of the most challenging real-world issues facing science and technology today.

This week, expert immunologist and professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Dr. Elizabeth Raveche, served as a special guest co-host of the program, along with veteran TV journalist Steve Taylor. Each Technogenesis program includes two or more special guests from the areas of science, technology, government, education, business or industry.

The Comcast Network is one of the nation's largest regional cable networks reaching close to 4 million households in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research.  The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.

Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts.  Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world.  Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.