2008 BIO International Convention Draws Global Industry Leaders And Public Officials For Networking, Deal Making And Partnering

Main Category: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Also Included In: Compliance
Article Date: 23 Jun 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The 2008 BIO International Convention, produced by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), wrapped up with 20,108 industry leaders - a 36 percent increase from the last time the convention was held in San Diego, Calif. in 2001. Attendees hailed from 70 countries and 48 states, as well as 4,270 attendees and exhibitors from California.

"The 2008 BIO International Convention was a phenomenal success, bringing together thousands of leaders from industry, government, academia and other disciplines who are working to solve some of society's greatest challenges," said president and CEO of BIO Jim Greenwood. "I want to personally thank our many partners in San Diego, the region and throughout the industry who help make this event a success year after year."

"We've had a rewarding time as the local hosts of the 2008 BIO International Convention," said Joe Panetta, president and CEO of BIOCOM, the association for the Southern California life science community. "Not only has this convention raised the profile of our life science community globally, but its visibility has helped our friends and neighbors here in Southern California understand the impact and importance of this industry to their own lives."

The full Convention program included four full days with 175 breakout sessions, 21 educational tracks, more than 1,000 speakers, three keynote sessions, six Super Sessions and three CEO Forum sessions.

More than 6,000 business leaders met at the convention and participated in the Business Forum. More than 14,500 one-on-one partnering meetings were held - a new record - and a total of 1,500 companies participated in the Business Forum.

The all-star keynote line up included Gen. Colin L. Powell, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), and J. Craig Venter, PhD. In addition, Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA); Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) discussed healthcare in an election year with moderator Neil Cavuto, Anchor & Managing Editor of Fox News Channel.

In addition, many high-profile VIPs attended the Convention with 10 governors and numerous international public officials, including The Hon. Lino Baranao, Minister of Science, Technology & Production Innovation, Argentina; Sen The Hon. Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science & Research, Australia; The Honourable Dr. Ewa Bjorling, Minister for Trade, Sweden; and His Excellency Suwit Khunkitti, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Industry, Thailand, among many others.

The convention featured the largest gathering of biotech exhibitors in history, with more than 2,100 companies, 126 of which were new, and more than 208,000 sq. feet of exhibition space, the largest ever at the convention. The exhibition included more than 60 domestic, country and regional pavilions representing every aspect of the biotechnology industry.

Exhibitors were thrilled with their experience and interactions within the BIO Exhibition:

"This is our first year at BIO and we didn't expect this much attention," said Donna Lee from RNL, a Korean biotech company who was popular this week for giving out Croc® shoes at their exhibit booth. The company develops products for Buerger's disease, which affects the hands and feet. "This is a big show, so the Crocs just made sense," said Lee.

"This was a great Convention for us. We made lots of solid business contacts. It was well worth the trip," said Sue Doughty, coordinator for Louisiana Bio-Tech Pavilion.

"This was another highly successful trip to the BIO International Convention for the New Zealand delegation. We made very useful business contacts. We look forward to coming back next year," said Christine Ross, communications manager of New Zealand Bio.

The BIO International Convention is the world's largest annual event for the biotechnology industry. The 2008 Convention ran Tuesday, June 17 through Friday, June 21 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. Next year's event will be held May 18-21, 2009 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga.

The BIO International Convention helps to support the association's programs and initiatives. BIO works throughout the year to create a policy environment that enables the industry to continue to fulfill its vision of bettering the world through biotechnology innovation. For more information on the global event for biotechnology, including program, registration, and housing information, please visit http://www.bio2008.org.

Check out BIO's events blog at www.bioontheroad.org and listen to podcasts on the convention at http://www.biotech-now.org.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world's largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.

http://www.bio.org

Upcoming BIO Events

BIO International Convention
June 17-20, 2008
San Diego, CA

Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy
Sept. 10-12, 2008
Vancouver, BC

BIO Investor Forum 2008
October 29-31, 2008
San Francisco, CA

BIO-Europe 2008
November 17-19, 2008
Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany

http://www.bio.org