Conference Roundup

Erik Clausen attended 2009 BIO International Convention, which took place between the 18-21 May in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. With nearly 15,000 attendees and 1,827 exhibiting companies from 61 different countries, this year’s event was a hive of activity. The BIO Business Forum conducted a record-breaking 14,202 30-min partnering meetings, and One-on-One Partnering meetings totalled 14,040.

The healthcare policy keynote with panel discussions on current bills being proposed in the U.S. House and Senate, the need for investment in biotech, and how to control costs in the healthcare system. Keynote speaker Sir Elton John challenged the biotech industry to tackle the reality of the worldwide HIV/ADIS epidemic.

Next year’s event is scheduled for the 3-6 May, 2010 in Chicago, IL, USA. Link…

The 3-4 of June this year saw the launch of EuroMedtech, a brand new conference from the EBD Group focused on the medical technology industries in Europe. College Hill was a sponsor of the event, which took place at the Maritim Hotel at Düsseldorf Airport, Germany, and Dr Douglas Pretsell attended for both days. The conference drew almost 200 companies from 21 countries around the world. The main conference platform had a number of roundtable discussions, panels and 43 presentations by Medical Technology companies (including several College Hill clients) seeking financing, licensing opportunities or partners for advancing their product development. One of the strengths of the event was its excellent partnering system. Six hundred and fifty two individual one-to-one meetings took place in the booths set up at the hotel. So despite it being the inaugural EuroMedtech conference, it has raised the bar for its competitors.

Although there was not a large number of the bigger companies in attendance, an increased presence can be expected in coming years as the reputation of the event grows. College Hill certainly plans to continue supporting this event in future years!

Details of next year’s event are yet to be confirmed, but more information can be found at the EBD Group website. Link…

The 21st meeting of the European Society for Animal Cell Technology (ESACT) took place between the 7-10 June in Dublin, Ireland. The event programme consisted of several workshops with over 40 presenters and speakers covering topics such as Synthetic & Molecular Biology, Stem Cells & Tissue Engineering, Biotherapeutics and Novel Vaccines & Virology. Katie Odgaard was in attendance for College Hill, where she she also supported Genetix at its ClonePix FL user forum following the event.

The next meeting of ESACT will be held in 2011, and more information about the society can be found at the ESACT website. Link…

The 10th anniversary Bio€quity conference took place from the 9-10 June in Munich, Germany, and as ever, showcased the cream of the European biotech sector. A total of 543 delegates represented 305 companies from 23 countries, of which 88 presented to an audience that included over 250 investors and financiers from across the globe. In the current climate, the mood of the conference was described as “realistically subdued”, by Mike Ward of BioCentury, the co-organisers of the conference along with the EBD Group. He added: “If you’re struggling to raise money, it’s not you, it’s everybody!”

At the same time there was also some optimism according to Mr Ward: “There is clear evidence that with the right story money is available. And this doesn’t mean that you have to have products in clinical trials, but perhaps a management able to drive a coherent and realistic strategy.”

With 10 of College Hill’s clients presenting, plus others attending in their investment capacity, the College Hill team, comprising Erik Clausen (San Francisco), Dr Douglas Pretsell (Munich) and Adam Michael (London), were able to provide on the ground support with meetings, interviews, and general logistics. In advance of the conference, College Hill had helped clients with presentations, media training, messaging, investor and media interviews.

Next year’s event will be on 19-20 May, in Zurich, Switzerland. For further updates please visit the BioCentury website. Link…

Sue Charles attended the 2009 EPIC VI which took place on 25 June in London, UK. The event showcased biotechs from across the UK and Europe looking for partners, investment or services. The event consisted of over 60 presentations, an exhibition and a partnering forum providing an excellent opportunity for networking and discussions to explore collaborations. The event provides an excellent forum for delegates from pharma, biotech, investor, CRO and service sectors, with the programme focused on the areas of pre clinical therapeutics, products in clinical trials and platforms and diagnostics.

Next year’s event has yet to be confirmed. Please check back with the EPIC website for updates. Link…

Katie Odgaard attended the 7th European Cytogenetics Conference which took place from 4-7 July, in Stockholm, Sweden. The annual event, organised on behalf of the European Cytogeneticist Association (ECA), consisted of a scientific programme with speakers presenting current findings and opinions from the spectrum of sub-disciplines that comprise cytogenetics, and offering a prospective view of developments in the rapidly expanding field, including various applications of array technology. The exhibition also provided an excellent opportunity for attendees to view the latest technologies available for cytogeneticists. A selection of satellite symposia offered insights into topics such as ‘The use of high-resolution CGH arrays for studying genetic disorders’ (Agilent) and ‘Reducing turnaround times in cytogenetics’ (Genetix).

Details of the next meeting are yet to be announced. Please check back at the ECA website for further updates. Link…

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