Presentations Planned for BIO Mid-America VentureForum</a>
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 12, 2007) – The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announces that several of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, including Abbott, Eli Lilly and Company, Procter & Gamble, and Pfizer Inc, will provide corporate presentations at the BIO Mid-America VentureForum on Sept. 24-26 in Milwaukee, Wis. at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee.
"The BIO Mid-America VentureForum provides an opportunity for Eli Lilly and Company to highlight our focus on partnerships,” said Steve Wilkie of Lilly’s Global External Research and Development group. “This event allows us to meet with many Midwest-based research companies and academic institutions and highlight some of our areas of interest for partnerships."
This will be the first time that large cap pharmaceutical companies have shared their business development strategies at the BIO Mid-America conference. BIO added these presentations to the program because of pharmaceutical companies’ interest in reaching early stage companies, and their investors, for potential deal making.
“The presence of these leading pharmaceutical companies together with seed and early-stage entrepreneurial companies at the BIO Mid-America VentureForum is ideal for exploring partnering and financing opportunities,” said John Neis, Managing Director of Venture Investors LLC.
Venture Investors LLC is sponsoring company presentations by Cellectar, LLC; Chromatin, Inc; Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals; Incept BioSystems; Mithridion, Inc; Tissue Regeneration Systems, Inc.; Virent Energy Systems; and ZyStor Therapeutics, Inc. In total, there will be approximately 60 presentations from bioscience, biofuel and medical device startups. Small cap companies will be presenting in hopes of securing venture capital funding or partnering deals offered by larger pharmaceutical companies.
The conference also will feature plenary sessions on commercial opportunities in the business of stem cells and Trends in Third Party Payer Policy and the Impact on Novel Drugs and Devices. Michael J. Barber, chief technology officer for GE Healthcare, will provide a keynote address.
The conference is the only national event in the Midwest focused on the life sciences sector.
Partners for the 2007 conference include BioOhio, Colorado Bioscience Association, Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization, Indiana Health Industry Forum, Iowa Biotechnology Association, LifeScience Alley, MichBio, Missouri Biotechnology Association, and the Wisconsin Biotechnology and Medical Device Association.
For more information or to register, please visit http://bma.bio.org.
Advance media registration is now available through September 20, 2007. To register in advance, please visit http://www.bio.org/news/pressreg. Registration is complimentary for credentialed members of the news media. Reporters and editors working full-time for print or broadcast news organizations may register onsite with valid media credentials.
Upcoming BIO Events
BIO InvestorForum 2007
October 9-11, 2007
San Francisco, Calif.
BIO-Europe 2007 International Partnering Conference
November 12-14, 2007
Hamburg, Germany
Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy
November 14-16, 2007
Honolulu, Hawaii
2008 BIO International Convention
June 17-20, 2008
San Diego, Calif.
Visit www.bio.org for information on all upcoming events.
About BIO www.bio.org
BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and 31 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the annual BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry.
About the BIO Mid-America VentureForum http://bma.bio.org
BIO Mid-America will feature presentations from up to 60 promising seed, early- and late-stage private biotech product and platform companies from the Midwest as well as presentations from leading North American venture capital firms in the life sciences field. Workshops and plenary sessions will be offered on trends in the biotech industry, with a special focus on key success factors for early-stage companies, research and development, market trends, and financing. In addition, there will be formal and informal networking opportunities with industry CEOs and venture capital leaders.
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