BIO-Europe Spring International Conference Builds Value through Partnering.

More Than 1100 Attendees Use State-of-the-Art Partnering System to Set up 4000 Individual Business Meetings

MILAN, Italy -- The first-ever international biotechnology partnering conference held in Italy drew to a close today, after bringing together more than 1100 biotechnology executives, global and regional pharmaceutical companies and financiers from five continents.

Over a three-day period, many delegates identified new business opportunities and developed strategic relationships to further their businesses in many parts of the world.

The delegates engaged in more than 4000 individual partnering meetings, heard presentations by more than 120 companies, and attended panels and workshops on a variety of business and therapeutic topics.

Conference highlights included:

* The release of an Italian national report showing that the country is quickly growing its biotech industry, which, today, stands at 222 companies generating more than $4B in revenue.

* Predictions that mergers, acquisitions, spinouts and project funding will replace traditional capitalization models in which investors finance companies from startup to maturity; that biotechnology outsourcing from North America to the Asia-Pacific region will become more prevalent; and that methods developed in industrial and agricultural biotechnology could, potentially, transform medical biotechnology.

* A roundtable meeting at which the heads of North American, European and other regional industry associations and companies discussed current policy trends -- and the importance of balancing the fulfillment of immediate public health needs with commitments to future research.

* The meeting, which featured a state-of-the art online partnering system, was deemed a great success by attendees from large and small pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Robert Wills, VP of Alliance Management, Johnson and Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ, said, "The world is clearly getting smaller and it is crucial that companies like ours reach out to cover the globe. We recognize that there are a lot of smart people all over the world. Holding a meeting like this in Southern Europe allows us to interact with companies we might otherwise not know existed, and to determine if there are matches between our work and theirs. One could, conceivably, schedule 30 or 40 meetings over the three-day period -- which would, otherwise, take a year. By giving big pharma and small biotech an international forum in which to interact, by all measures, the EBD BIO-Europe Spring Partnering Conference has been a great success."

Matthew Roe, Senior Director of Business Development for Genzyme Pharmaceuticals, said, "EBD has achieved great success in launching a new meeting in a new country -- and has made both the partnering and the program a real success."

Andy Brookes, Senior Director of Business Development for Biogen Idec, International, said, "As our company and the industry globalize, conferences like this provide important contacts from all over the world. We are pleased to take part in a conference with such a vibrant atmosphere."

Harvinder Popli, Head of In-Licensing for Ranbaxy Laboratories, LLC, a New Delhi integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company, stated, "We came hoping to find European laboratories seeking to maximize their value in Asian territories. We had more than 20 meetings and, as a result expect to partner with several new companies. That is a very optimal outcome. This is a conference that we would attend again."

For Ming Li, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, said, "BIO-Europe Spring provided the perfect opportunity to meet with key business development players. As a result of our meetings we have entered discussions with a major global pharmaceutical company. We are very happy with this result."

Peter Trinda, CEO, Thymed GmbH, a German company providing immune system testing, said, "We came to the conference seeking new contacts and potential partners. We had thirty meetings and now have 4-5 serious potential partners. The partnering system worked very well -- and people were also available for conversations outside the system. This was one of the most cost-effective conferences I've attended for generating potential new deals. I will definitely come again."

Deborah Ashib, PhD, Molteni Therapeutics, srl, a spinoff of Moltein Farmaceuticici located in Toscana Lifescience Park, in Siena, Italy, said, "It is definitely a huge opportunity for Italian biotechnology to have large pharma and the best-known VCs in the world come to Milan, all at the same time. The conference's presentations showcased the best biotechnology, innovative medicines and therapies in the world. As a result of the partnering meetings, we now expect to be able to raise significant funding that will allow us to more quickly bring our innovative molecules to market."

Prof. Alberto Albertini, Director, Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche, Instito de Tecnologie Biomedicine, in Milan, Italy, said, "This meeting comes at the opening of a new era for the Italian biotechnology community. Holding the conference in Milan, where 70 of our biotechnology companies are located, has given us the opportunity to educate industry around the world about our work -- and to educate Italian researchers about how best to bring their work to fruition in the marketplace."

In the words of Carola Schropp, Managing Partner of EBD Group, "We are pleased to have organized such a vibrant community of biotechnology leaders from so many parts of the world. The deals and consensus reached over the past three days will shape our industry for years to come."

About EBD Group

EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global biotechnology industry. Since 1993, firms in the life sciences have leveraged EBD Group's partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships that drive their business.

EBD Group's conferences (run in collaboration with leading industry partners and international trade associations such as BIO and Eucomed) include BIO-Europe, the world's largest stand-alone life science partnering conference; BIO-Europe Spring; the investor conference, BioEquity Europe (co-organized with BioCentury Publications); and the convergent medical technology partnering conference, BioDevice Partnering. EBD's novel, web-based, partnering software system is also used at numerous third-party events around the world. Outside of the conference format, EBD Group's consultants can provide hands-on assistance for firms seeking to in- or out-license products and technologies.

EBD Group has offices in San Diego, Munich and London. For more information visit www.ebdgroup.com.