Gov. Tim Pawlenty and BIO’s Jim Greenwood To Speak at BIO Mid-America VentureForum
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 22, 2005) – Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will join Jim Greenwood, president & CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), to address the BIO Mid-America Venture Forum at the Minneapolis Hilton on the morning of Sept. 22. The forum, which runs Sept. 21–23, also features luncheon keynote speeches from Leon O. Moulder, president and CEO of Minneapolis-based MGI Pharma Inc., and Joshua Boger, Ph.D., chairman, president and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass.
Governor Pawlenty’s commitment to biomedical research and economic development led him to spearhead the creation of the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, a unique enterprise linking expertise and resources from the Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota and the state of Minnesota. His other achievements since being elected governor in 2002 include balancing the budget, overhauling education standards, welfare reform, lawsuit reform, government efficiency initiatives, and transportation improvement.
Insights on the national outlook for the biotechnology industry will come from Mr. Greenwood, who represented Pennsylvania’s Eighth District in Congress before joining BIO in January. As a congressional leader on health care issues, he authored numerous bills signed into law, including legislation to promote pediatric labeling for pharmaceuticals, reform medical device review and approval, and expand research and establish innovative programs to address traumatic brain injury. Mr. Greenwood’s top priority at BIO has been improving the advocacy operation as the organization deals with issues encompassing the FDA, Medicare, intellectual property, and agriculture and energy policy.
The two luncheon keynote speakers, Mr. Moulder and Dr. Boger, will offer the perspective of successful biotech CEOs whose companies have brought innovative new therapies to patients. Other BIO Mid-America speakers include executives from top life sciences companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific and Genentech, and some of the nation’s leading venture capital firms.
About BIO Mid-America VentureForum
Now in its third year, the BIO Mid-America VentureForum is the Midwest’s largest annual event joining private biotech and medical device companies in need of funding with venture capitalists, angel investors, and investment bankers from across the United States and Canada. More than 60 private life sciences companies will give business plan presentations during the conference.
BIO Mid-America also features eight workshops and panel sessions, including a Sept. 23 plenary session that will consider whether life sciences are at an inflection point in the Midwest. Other session topics include emerging markets, converging technologies, intellectual property, reimbursement and the outlook for financing and partnering.
Complete information, as well as on-line registration, is available at bma.bio.org. Registration is complimentary for credentialed media.
In addition to BIO, the Mid-America VentureForum is co-sponsored by Medical Alley/MNBIO and eight state biotech associations: the Colorado BioScience Association, the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Indiana Health Industry Forum, the Iowa Biotechnology Association, MichBio (Michigan), the Missouri Biotechnology Association, Omeris (Ohio), and the Wisconsin Biotechnology Association.
About BIO
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 33 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. For more information on BIO, visit our Web site at www.bio.org.
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