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Biotech bigwigs will gather close to homeBy Jenny Price
More than twice the number of Wisconsin companies will attend BIO 2006 in Chicago than traveled to Philadelphia for last year's event, which drew upwards of 20,000 people from around the world to unveil new technologies, check out the competition and make deals. BIO has never been held in the Midwest. Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center is the only venue in the Midwest large enough to accommodate the event, so this is as close as it will ever get to Wisconsin. "There's no other event that has this many people in one spot involved with biotech," said Drew Killian, account executive for RS&K, a Madison marketing firm helping the state's biotech industry plan for the event. The guide for BIO 2006 includes an inside cover ad touting Wisconsin as the "Core of Discovery." "With hotbeds of biotechnology activity in both Madison and Milwaukee, including the National Stem Cell Bank, Wisconsin is not only at the core of the nation, but the core of discovery," the ad reads. Wisconsin's contingent will host an opening night reception on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center and have a larger presence on the convention floor with the "Wisconsin Pavilion," which will have space for 35 companies. The state Department of Commerce will help the state's biotechnology companies arrange meetings with foreign companies, spokesman Tony Hozeny said. The goal is to get recognition for individual companies as well as to show the strength of Wisconsin's biotechnology sector overall, said Jan Alf, director of business development for Forward Wisconsin. The group, chaired by the governor, is a joint venture between the state and the private sector that works to attract new businesses, jobs and increased economic activity. For several small biotechnology firms that made the trip to Philadelphia last year and intend to go to Chicago this month, the event provides a chance to unveil new discoveries to a large audience, make new connections and potentially increase sales. On the first day of BIO 2005, officials with Madison-based NeoClone met with an existing client from Australia, CEO Deven McGlenn said. "By being there and meeting with them and just kind of growing the relationship we moved from one project to now we're doing, I think, upwards of 30 projects with them," he said. McGlenn said this year promises the same opportunities because the firm, which produces proteins that can diagnose diseases and perhaps one day even treat them, has 300 customers spread across 25 countries. "If I can meet even just 10 of my existing customers and I didn't have to make the effort of going to see them in their labs across the country and across the world, it be-comes hugely cost effective for us," he said. Quincy Bioscience, another small Madison biotechnology company developing therapies for conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, plans to release some new research results at BIO 2006 about a protein it has been investigating. "All the decision makers in the world in this industry have representatives at BIO and so we have access to them," said Quincy Bioscience President Mark Under-wood. "You get to get in the door with a lot of these larger companies," he said. And Wisconsin's efforts to raise its profile at this year's BIO is something participating companies will benefit from, McGlenn said. "Wisconsin has done a nice job previously, but the fact that they've stepped up the effort a bit more because it's in their backyard is a smart move. It won't go unnoticed, that's for sure," he said. "I would say that it's money well spent." jenny.price@gmail.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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