Bay Area Biotechnolgy Pioneers and Luminaries Share Their Views of Vibrant Industry.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

BIO 2004 Annual Convention

Booth 1614

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2004

The Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium (BASIC) and the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3) today jointly released a report giving the Bay Area perspective on the vibrant biotechnology industry, which was born in the Bay Area in the 1970s.

"Biotechnology: Essays from its Heartland" contains 14 diverse essays written by some of most notable Bay Area-based biotech pioneers and luminaries. The report complements the theme of BIO 2004, the world's largest biotechnology gathering -- "San Francisco: Where It All Began."

Among the report's highlights are:

The Biotechnology Industry from Birth to Adolescence: Dr. Ed Penhoet, co-founder of Chiron, gives an insider's account of the birth of the biotechnology industry and how the confluence of essential attributes in the San Francisco Bay Area -- researchers from three strong universities, venture capital, the high-tech community and a can-do entrepreneurial culture -- enabled it to flourish.

400 Ways to Fight Cancer: Genetech CEO Dr. Arthur Levinson describes the tremendous progress made in recent years in discovering a wide range of new targets and therapies for fighting cancer. Such a diversity presents challenges in determining the best approach for each patient, as well as assessing the value of therapies that halt tumors growth but don't shrink them and those that work best in combination with others. Long-term use of targeted treatments may even transform cancer from a high-mortality acute disease to a chronic ailment that can be managed over long periods of time.

Waiting for e-Medicine: Dr. John D. Rootenberg of UC-San Francisco says doctors have long known the potential benefits of information technology in the practise of medicine. But realizing this potential still requires solving a host of issues -- such as fast and intuitive user interfaces for doctors, privacy controls for patients and the seamless integration of diverse systems and data sources.

The Shape of Things to Come: Life sciences merchant banker G. Steven Burrill predicts that biotechnology's future contributions to agriculture, nutrition, industrial processes, new materials and the environment will be every bit as important as those made to healthcare. He urges support for biotech research to provide for society's expanding need for clean water and air and ample food and energy supplies.

From Scientific Breakthrough to Commercial Success: Monitor Group consultants give a provocative indictment by of the business models of many current biotech companies along with their recommendations for increasing the likelihood of future success as the industry matures.

The full report is can be viewed in PDF format on the World Wide Web at: http://www.bayeconfor.org/basic/rep/rep_top.html. During BIO 2004, the report is available at the BASIC/Bay Area Partnership booth in the Exhibition area (California Pavilion, Booth 1614).

QB3 (www.qb3.org) is a cooperative effort among University of California campuses in San Francisco, Berkeley and Santa Cruz to tackle the grand challenges of biomedical research through collaborative programs involving biologists, chemists, engineers, physicists, and computational scientists.

BASIC (http://www.bayeconfor.org/basic/) is an action-oriented collaboration of the San Francisco Bay Area's major research universities, national laboratories, independent research institutions, research and development-driven businesses and organizations. BASIC is dedicated to:

-- Developing innovative collaborative programs that take

advantage of the unique capabilities at Bay Area R&D

institutions to provide solutions for critical national and

regional challenges;

-- Advocating for the Bay Area at the regional, state and federal

levels for economic, policy and business issues and

opportunities impacting R&D;

-- Demonstrating the critical linkage between the Bay Area's R&D

infrastructure and its economic vitality.

Other reports recently produced by BASIC include:

-- Nanotechnology in the San Francisco Bay Area: Dawn of a New

Age (January 2004)

-- Meeting the Challenge of Homeland Security (October 2003)